Collision Code
by SSJrandommaster
Summary: A hidden message leads to two friends getting themselves stuck in Equestria. While they try to adapt to their new lives, a long-forgotten evil begins to make its move.
1. Prologue

_May 19, 2014_

_I need to keep a log of everything, otherwise I'll think I'm losing my mind over this. Okay, so since my school work started to slacken, what with summer coming up and all, I realized I was getting too frustrated over things that didn't matter. Before some things happened, I wasn't known for getting angry. Now, I've nearly alienated my friends with my rage, and I've finally made the resolve to make things right. In an attempt to return to how I was, I decided that I needed to start watching more of a show that I've kept putting off for a while now._

_I'm talking about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. I had started watching it back when it was still relatively new, before a third season was announced. I ended up shying away from it for a long while…I don't want to go into that right now. Let's just say, I put it behind me and I was able to continue the series at long last._

_It was good at first. I was able to watch episodes and enjoy them, as I used to. The more I watched, the more excited I got for the next episode down the line. I began to feel like I was finally able to move on._

_However, as my anger began to go away, I started to notice something. At first, I thought I was just seeing things—a lot had changed since my last time watching the show, and one facet of my life that had was my eyesight: I needed glasses and finally got them not too long ago. Even after I put them on, though, I began to see it. In some episodes of the series, hidden in the background, there was some kind of message._

_They'd be written on clouds, scratched into tree bark, whatever, but they were there. But the fact there was hidden messages wasn't the weirdest part—certainly not the fact that it was patchy either—only some episodes had them. It was the format the messages were written in…_

_I don't care if you believe me or not…but…they were written in…of all things, Java…_

_I'm sorry, I guess I should start over. My name is Corey, and your name is Journal. I hope we get along. Can't stand inanimate paper calling me insane, after all._

_Anyway, I began seeing these things a couple of days ago when I really started being able to watch episodes again. I'm not sure why there's code here, of all places, and why I'm the only one that can see it out of the four of us…_

* * *

There was nothing like a good Skype call between friends. Corey knew this, but he was currently on mute, watching yet another episode of ponies. This time around, Rainbow Dash was having trouble coping with her loving of reading books. It was pretty good, as most episodes tended to be. He could only think of two episodes he'd watched so far that he flat-out despised, but he preferred not to dwell on those lest that anger come back.

He didn't watch the cartoon in full screen. In one window, he had Skype open, but the program was on mute. The icons representing his friends flashed as noise came in from their ends. He couldn't tell what they were saying, getting two ears full of pony instead. To most, he'd fit the classical image of a brony almost perfectly: overweight, messy-haired, hunched over at a computer desk. He even wore a pair of glasses.

"There it is again…" Corey mumbled aloud to himself, pausing the cartoon and pulling out a notebook, opening it to where he'd folded a corner of the pages. There was several lines of code there. Of course, no one but him could read it—his writing had never been good by most people's standards. He hastily scrawled the lines he saw.

_public void move(double x, double y, double z, Being b) {_

_}_

The second curly bracket was more out of habit than anything else, and Corey knew he'd regret it later when he went back to assemble the haphazard lines of code. By now, he knew what programming language they were in. Java, of course. Of course, this still didn't add up; why was it there was Java in the background exactly? Did Hasbro really let this through? Was it an Easter Egg for code monkeys like him?

His line of internal questions was stopped, however, when he saw the Skype icon on the taskbar flash orange, with an orange "1" in the lower right corner of the Skype logo. He quickly returned his attention to Skype for a moment, and saw this:

_Ivan: Corey, you still pursuing your conspiracy theory?_

Frustration boiled in Corey's gut as he tried not to let it get to him. It just wasn't worth it. But, seeing as how he'd paused the episode mid-shot with the code still clearly visible on…of all places, the wall of the hospital directly behind Rainbow, he decided to do what any sensible person would do.

He full-screened the episode for a few seconds, took a screenshot, and sent it to the chat, accompanied by the message:

_Corey: Take a look at the screenshot, tell me if it's really a theory…_

Corey went back to watching the episode as his friends watched. Without bothering to pause, he quickly added:

_Corey: Look behind Rainbow, you should see it there…_

_Leo: I'm so sure…_

All three of his friends were downloading the screenshot. Corey continued to watch the episodes, taking down the code as he went. Towards the end, as he finished jotting down something for another method—or maybe it was that move method from earlier—Corey received a few other messages from Skype.

_Ivan: I don't see a thing in this pic, I mean, unless you want me to look at Rainbow's ass…_

_Leo: Hey, that is my thing! But yeah, Cor, I'm not seeing it._

_John: You're just being paranoid…_

_John: Not that it's a bad thing, better than your anger, at least…_

Corey sighed. It really looked like the only way he could prove this was real was to take down all the lines of code he spotted in the episodes, and assemble them into their final form to prove them wrong. For now, though…

_Corey: I know what I saw…_

With that, Corey finished the episode, though not without yet another interruption.

_John: Do you?_

Corey let out yet another sigh, and didn't bother responding to John anymore. He was just going to sit here and take the notes, and hope he got all the clues…

* * *

_May 27, 2014_

_I've mostly caught up with the show now, Season 4 nonwithstanding, and I think I've pieced together most of the code. For some reason, it only shows up a little bit after…those…episodes. They start at Season 2, Episode 4, in the background, and they seem to be awfully abundant in scenes where we're sure we're in Ponyville. Episodes that focus elsewhere don't have them. _

_They seem to be put where someone should see them in full. Good thing I wear my glasses when watching things online, otherwise I might not have seen the code clearly without full-screening it. I still don't know how people aren't seeing it…I seem to be the only one who can…_

_Regardless, I've got to finish Season 3 now. I've cobbled together a lot of code…_

_But what is this all leading up to?_

* * *

It was a pretty quiet afternoon, so Corey had no real Skype obligations to tend to. Which meant only one thing: it was time for ponies. He'd pretty much blazed through most of it by now, only stopping whenever he caught another line hidden in the background. He seemed to have found the last remnants of the message…oddly, in the smoking crater that Twilight had left after being zapped with the other Elements.

"And then the brony community proceeded to have a cow…" Corey mumbled, taking in the sight of a Twilight with wings for the first time outside of screenshots and fanart. He inhaled, ready to continue, but stopped himself, "No, you've already gone too long about it, move on..."

He glanced to his notebook again. An impossibly large amount of lines of code had been compiled now. They detailed several methods, and some of the code was some things that Corey was sure consisted of subclasses to the program. Was he dealing with an entire ensemble of classes and objects?

_I've compiled together so much code from the background…All that's left is to assemble it. But, I think I'd better keep going, and see if any code is left…_

"_Yes! Everything's going to be just fine!_" The closing line in the episode snapped Corey out of his haze. Well, since there was credits coming up, Corey decided to keep going into Season Four. He hesitated, the mouse hovering over the episode.

_C'mon Corey, you said you would…Besides, you need to see if there's anything else you've missed anyway…_

With that, the boy clicked on the first episode of the fourth season, and began…

* * *

_May 28, 2014_

_It's just passed midnight now. Finally finished gathering the code, or I should say Magical Mystery Cure had the last lines of code in it…_

_For some reason, after the last episode of the third season, the code seemed to simply stop appearing. I'll go back and re-watch the episodes I'd already watched before I started watching again, to see if anything else is there. But still, why did it stop specifically after Season 3? Was that the end of the code? Did something happen to the message?_

_Whatever the case, I have to get ready to assemble the code now…_

_I stopped telling Ivan, Leo, and John about what I was seeing. No need to alienate them with so-called "paranoia" after I just got done alienating them with my anger. But, if they ask what I'm up to, I will answer truthfully. _

_I just hope it doesn't come to that, not yet…_

* * *

_June 14, 2014_

_After a little over two weeks of hard work, I'm finally almost done. It took a lot of effort to figure out which lines of code go where, since the message was totally scrambled. As I thought, the lines of code translated to a few objects. The Being class in the move method, for some reason, had a lot of fields…but a blank constructor that seemed to resolve nothing. It used a void method called getInfo…but that didn't make sense either. It didn't seem to ask for anything, not even using System calls to look into cookies or registry files…in fact, the code just says voidEnter(), and doesn't seem to intake anything else…It doesn't make sense, but the code seems to run completely fine when I compile that class…_

_There were a few others, but the code was still incomplete. I had to fill in blanks where I needed to. I'm a bit afraid to run the core class, though. I don't know what it'd do if I had the code even a hair off…So far, though, I'm getting a clean compile, which is better than nothing._

_I've just got to make some finishing touches tomorrow, and that'll be that…_

_I'll report to you later on the success of my findings, journal._

* * *

It had been a couple of days since he'd written that journal entry. Now, Corey was staring at the open code, hovering the mouse cursor over the "Run" button. It would be incredibly easy to do so, but ever since completing the code and compiling it, Corey had felt hesitant to run the code. He'd compiled the program cleanly, there didn't appear to be any glaring logic errors, and he didn't see anything that looked overtly suspicious in the code, so why was it he was so afraid?

The all-too-familiar sound of an incoming Skype message came in. It was in the chat he shared with his three closest friends. However, only one of them was on.

_John: I know it's a bit early, but..._

_Call?_

Call? Corey thought to himself for a moment. John never really asked for calls unless it was more than just him, so why was he asking now? Whatever the case, Corey decided that he could use some other voice besides his own, so he decided to, without even bothering to answer his question, hit the "Call Group" button on Skype.

It took a few moments for John to answer, but when he did, his voice had some feedback in the background to it, as usual.

"'Sup, Cor?" he asked. Corey bristled, but shrugged it off easily enough.

"Nothing much, really," Corey said. "Just…putting some stuff together."

"You hear that _Battle of Gods_ is coming to theatres?"

"Yeah, but it's probably not releasing anywhere around here," Corey sighed, "_Dragon Ball_ films that all people will like will never make it to theatres…"

"Please, _Evolution_ wasn't that bad…"

"Taken as itself, maybe, but taken as a derivative of the source material, not so much…" The boy knew this wasn't quite normal, and thus said what was on his mind: "You know, John, I'm surprised, you usually don't ask for a call unless someone else is on too. What's on your mind? Takes more than a new movie release for you to have to request a call out of the blue when it's just the two of us."

"I was wondering, what exactly have you done with those so-called 'hidden messages'?" John asked, his voice coming through from the other end loud and clear. Corey paused, unsure if John was asking him sincerely. Thankfully, John clarified with his next message, "Like, what kind of hidden message was it?"

"It was…written in Java…" Corey said.

"Java?" John asked.

"You know, like the co—"

"I guessed as much!" John cut in before Corey could finish, "…So the code was written in Java, you said?"

"That's right…It was weird. Throughout all the scenes, especially the ones in Ponyville, I'd been seeing lines of code…and when I assembled them, they were an entire program! Objects, a central method…it had it all!"

"I'd…imagine…" John said.

"Well, I wouldn't say all…I did have to fill in some code for myself…" Corey trailed off, "But…"

"But what?" John asked.

"I haven't run the code," Corey said, "I've clean compiled it a lot of times, but I've never run the final build…"

"Why not? Doesn't it look like it's gonna print out a message for you?"

"John…" Corey groaned, "The methods are…weird."

"Well then, what does the code do?" John asked, "Of the four of us—hell, of all of us, you're the one that has the best grip on it…"

"That's true…" Corey sighed, "Well, I wish I could say for sure, but…from what I'm seeing, it shouldn't do anything once it's run."

"Why is that?"

"Well…most of the methods call other methods, but they don't exist anywhere else. Yet, the code compiles as though nothing is wrong. There are a lot of these methods here and there, and some of them reference the z-axis. Probably isn't as uncommon as you think, but I've only handled programs in two dimensions…"

"So it has a third dimension…" John said, "That's pretty much all I know, this coding stuff just kinda goes over my head."

Corey looked to the code again. There were so many methods that resolved to seemingly nothing, not even a System call, like he knew. It seemed like there were so many hanging threads...

_On top of that, this could very well be a virus, introduced by spiteful people who only host the cartoon to lure unsuspecting people into a trap…But then again, it'd take a hell of a lot of effort to make a virus this elaborate. This program doesn't hack into the registry or the cookies, it seems like my personal stuff is safe…But why does it reference a "Being" class? Why is it that the program references three axes, and…a "Being" in a move method… It all sounds like a game…Maybe that's what it is. Perhaps people hid source code for a game somewhere…_

"Corey, you still there?" John asked, breaking Corey's introspection, "Did you go A-F-K again? It's just like you to walk off…"

"No, no, I'm here…" Corey responded, shaking his head. There was a few moments of silence, broken when he spoke up again, "You know what? Screw it."

"Huh?"

"I'm going to run it right now, and see what happens!" Moving his cursor, clicking out of the Skype window before he changed his mind, Corey hovered the pointer over the "Run" button of the program he used and clicked.

The computer briefly loaded up the program, as though it were run. A window depicting a command prompt popped up for just a second, then…nothing. His computer still ran as normal. It was the biggest anti-climax Corey had ever had in his life.

"Nothing…" Corey said, slumping forward.

"Maybe it was just a hoax, then?" John asked.

"Yeah…hold that thought, I'm gonna run an anti-virus scan on—"

The Skype download sound suddenly went off.

"Did you just send me—" John began.

"No, I didn't send a thing!" Corey responded, looking down, wondering what the hell just happened.

"Dude, look at the file!" John yelled, alarmed.

Corey swallowed hard, and hesitantly clicked on the Skype icon on his taskbar. His eyes widened at the name of the file both were downloading—which was weird, since neither Leo nor Ivan were on to send them anything—but the file name was far more disturbing.

_help_ _

"Help…?" Corey croaked, at an utter loss for words. A small thought erupted at the back of his head, one he would later recall as quite silly given the seriousness of the situation:

_If my life just turned into a creepypasta…!_

The Skype download sound finished playing, and Corey heard a deafening crack sound. He looked up, and was even more horrified to find a Windows command prompt window staring him down. Worse, the screen seemed to have been cracked. There was text being rapidly typed, but Corey blanked it all out, too numb from shock to know what he should be reading. As soon as it finished, the prompt window shattered, and Corey inexplicably found himself being sucked in. As soon as he realized what was happening, Corey grunted, turning to the nearest surface: his bed, and held on for dear life.

Pity his sheets could never seem to stay on when he wanted them to.

Here, Corey realized there was another use for the word "void" in Java, one he never suspected could be a use. But that was but a small thought in the back of his mind right now.

His sheets peeled back too far, and Corey let out a yell of terror as he fell into the void. A vortex of trippy colors and loud static assaulted his eyes and ears. He felt a surge of pain go through his body; especially his head. The next thing he knew, a blinding white light enveloped everything…

* * *

_**And as you can see, the new Collision Code is far different from its old version. The old version can be found on my Google Drive linked in my profile, in case you still want to read the old one. Let's hope the rewrite was the right thing to do...**_


	2. Act 1 Chapter 1

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 1: Familiar Place, Unfamiliar Stigma**

* * *

It had been what felt like forever before Corey could open his eyes again. The first he realized, he was lying out face-up on the ground. He could see, very clearly, the sky above. Somehow or other, he hadn't quite lost his glasses during that trippy vortex. More importantly, though, he felt something was…off, to say the least. Willing himself to move, Corey first lifted his head, and noticed something was off almost immediately: one, he was in actual clothes and not pajamas—able to see his favorite shirt and hoodie instead of a white T-shirt. He was basically fully clothed. He even had shoes on and all. This wasn't exactly a normal occurrence.

_Questionable vortexes,_ Corey thought to himself, putting his hands up in front of him to feel his torso to see if he really had slimmed down somehow, _They burn several million calories per—_

His train of thought derailed as soon as he saw his hands—when he got a good look at them. They still had five fingers, but that wasn't his concern.

His hands were g_reen_.

"What in the—" Corey began, pushing himself up into a sitting position now, still looking upon his hands. There was no mistake about it, they weren't the pale color they usually were. The fact he was suddenly in real clothes—the gray hoodie, gray shirt with green logos on the front of it, dark gray pants, and of course his white shoes too—was the least of his concerns. Why was his skin green?

No—not skin, as he put his hands to his head, he realized his skin was actually covered in fur. His head hair felt, lengthened—he even had a tail now, dark green in color! The boy remained frozen in position, looking around.

_Okay, stay calm…_ Corey thought to himself, _It won't do me any good to start panicking…You get sucked into your computer, definitely human, and in your pajamas…You come out the other end, questionably—_

During his internal monologue, Corey ran his hands over his head. His ears weren't in their usual spot, but now were on top of his head, folded downwards.

_Definitely an animal, but…think! What could have—?_

He would have facepalmed, but something pricked his hand when he went to do that. Confused and bewildered, Corey ran his hands over his head, more specifically, the upper part. He felt a drill of sorts coming out of it. Looking specifically at it, he realized what it was.

_A…unicorn horn!? _Corey recognized it almost immediately. Looking around, Corey stood up.

_So you ran the program, you went into that vortex…and came out, more than likely a unicorn…which means…!_

* * *

The quaint town of Ponyville would usually be filled with chatter by now. It was about noon—the high point of any day, after all. Ponies were out of their houses, some walking about, others doing their jobs. But for the ponies in the middle of town, it was an entirely different story.

All of them were frozen in place, looking towards the center. There was something standing hunched over: something eight feet tall, black, blue, and scaly. He only wore what appeared to be a pair of blue jeans and a black open vest. Some of the crowd observing the dragon in the center of the town noted the look of dazed confusion on his face. He seemed to be more interested in examining himself than his surroundings.

"What's he doing here? Didn't they migrate out southeast?" one onlooker asked, in a hushed voice.

"You really never know with dragons sometimes…" another said, "Remember the librarian's assistant? One time he got greedy, and…"

"I know, I know…Normally a nice little…dragon, though…"

"So what's…?"

The dragon raised both of his clawed hands, looking like he came in peace, but instead a random mis-mash of what could barely be described as gibberish began to issue from his mouth. The ponies in the square all froze. The horribly confused look on his face did little to mitigate the fact that nopony understood what he was trying to say.

Again, he tried to speak, and again, he failed to form a coherent sentence. However, he made some progress:

"...eye…hear…no…" But these were the only three words he uttered that the gathered ponies could even begin to understand. The sentence still consisted of what sounded like grunts and growls.

By now, some ponies among the crowd were starting to get worried.

"I don't think he's come looking for some bread and eggs…" somepony said, now sounding scared.

"What's he here for then?"

The dragon looked distinctly frustrated, and tried once again to communicate, but the only thing that was clear to the gathered crowd was that he was growling and grunting as though he were a feral dragon whose vocabulary was obliterated by his aging.

The crowd was deathly quiet now. More ponies had gathered around, and their faces morphed from cautious curiosity to fear. The dragon looked from pony to pony, seemingly understanding he had failed to communicate what he was here to do at all, and sighed.

As he sighed, a stream of orange flames came from his mouth. His eyes, half-closed from what could have been annoyance, shot open as he continued to spew fire.

But that was all the ponies saw, a dragon spewing a warning shot. The ponies were now in panic mode, and most of them began to scatter in all directions.

* * *

John didn't know what was going on. Not even a little. All he knew was that he was a dragon, surrounded by ponies—anthromorphed ponies, to be exact, since they clearly walked on two legs—and they were looking at him suspiciously if anything. It wasn't hard for him to see why—the ground wasn't quite so far away and he didn't remember being so scaly—or dressing like a thug.

Well, to say he didn't know what was going on at all wasn't true—he did just cause a panic. All he wanted to do was sigh in frustration, and fire began to spew from his mouth!

John looked around at the ponies, trying to use his new throat and mouth to speak.

"_Hold on, everyone! That was an accident!_" That was what he wanted to say, but to the onlookers—and him, it came out as more guttural noises. John slumped his shoulders.

_It's no good! _John bit his lip, which probably didn't do well for his image right now, but he'd already caused a panic entirely by accident, so he didn't care too much about that anymore. _This won't end well…_

John summed up what he did know quickly: Corey ran the program, Skype began downloading something questionable and…surprisingly chillingly-named. Then, he woke up, was obviously a dragon; and now, in a world he knew all too well—with a slight twist.

And he'd just caused a mass panic.

And, to cap things off, he could see a distant rainbow turning around.

_I'd better move…_

John didn't quite need to move past anypony; no one dared to try to get in his way as he took off running the first direction he could go. As he ran, the dragon could only think of one thing.

_Corey, if you're here too…!_

* * *

Corey walked through the forest, looking down on himself. He'd worked out most of the details, and the gist of it was, somehow or other, that code had sent him here—to Equestria, of all places. He still didn't know all of it, though. Why did it send them here?

As he walked, he sighted Ponyville in the distance: the sight of a very distant moving rainbow going into town wasn't quite hard to miss, especially since he still had his glasses on. Assuming it was in fact Rainbow Dash, he began to move towards town.

_The code stopped after Season 3…Could that be a rough indicator of where in the timeline I am? For that matter, was John pulled in too?_ Corey thought to himself, his thoughts still not quite in sync following the sudden warp.

Shaking his head and pushing his glasses up on his face, the green unicorn looked up, resoluteness on his face.

_I won't get my answers, if I just stand around like an idiot! _Corey thought, _If I did cause it, I'll solve it! So…I'll start my search in Ponyville, at the Golden Oaks library…_

Unknowing of John's current predicament, Corey continued on his way towards Ponyville, the forest thinning out more and more as he continued into the forest.

* * *

"There's a _what_, in the town?!"

She had seen a lot of things since moving to Ponyville. She had been a part of several bad situations. But this was a new one to Twilight Sparkle, student of Princess Celestia, local librarian, and recently-coronated alicorn Princess. However, though she was officially a princess now, she didn't always wear her tiara: one of those times wasn't now. She more or less wore what many considered to be her usual outfit: a white long-sleeve shirt with a sort of crystal pattern to it, and white dress pants and a pair of brown shoes. The only real change was the slits in the back that accommodated her new wings.

"A d-d-d-_dragon_!" The pony delivering the bad news: Element of Kindness, and one of her best friends, Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was physically trembling in fear; no doubt having encountered the beast she spoke of as it ran through town. Twilight knew, from prior experience, that dragons—at least, dragons that were bigger than Spike—were her biggest fear. It was really no surprise then, that she chose to run to Twilight tell her, rather than chase it down with the others. On this day, she wore a green sweater, pale blue skirt, white, knee-high socks, and black shoes.

"W-we don't kn-kn-know why, b-but he just crash in the middle of t-town!" She continued, "Everypony was already afraid, then—fire—fire—he started to breathe f-f-fi-fire-!"

"Was it provoked in any way?" Twilight asked, cutting her off before she could go on any longer.

Fluttershy merely shook her head no—well, not "merely". She violently shook it back and forth. This didn't go well by Twilight.

_That isn't good, dragons and ponies generally don't get along…But the ones I've run into only attacked when provoked…except for those three Spike tried to hang out with, and even then, they didn't immediately start attacking! If it just breathed fire for no given reason, then…_

"Ponyville may have some fighters, but they aren't trained for something like this…" Twilight said to herself, already planning a course of action, "Where are the others?' The lavender alicorn asked her friend.

"P-Pinkie and Rarity are trying to keep the town calm…Rainbow a-and Applejack are trying to catch the dragon…" Twilight bit down on her thumb: it was true they've probably faced worse in the grand scheme of things, but facing down a dragon was never a good idea. Even if the one in town was around teen age if anything, it was still probably strong enough to overpower any pony easily.

"Fluttershy…" Twilight began, "I need you to help them…"

Fluttershy squeaked and stopped shaking, instead becoming as stiff as a board. Twilight leaned forward, trying to sound as understanding as possible as she put her hands on Fluttershy's shoulders.

She also knew from past experience Fluttershy could get a bit…rough should you try to force her to go see dragons…

"I know you're afraid, but we don't have any other options at the moment…I need you to use your stare…That worked before. With any luck, you'll be able to persuade him to leave…"

Fluttershy turned her head weakly towards the town. Twilight took a quick peek as well. It was odd—if there was a rampaging dragon on the loose, certainly more of the town would be on fire by now? Nonetheless, the dragon was still a problem that needed to be resolved.

"I…I…" Fluttershy stuttered, "I…I can't…but…"

Fluttershy hung her head and squeaked, "I'd never forgive myself if something were to happen to my friends…or the townsponies, because I was too afraid to help…"

The pegasus looked up to meet the alicorn's eyes—or at least, tried to, her eyes slightly off to the left of Twilight now, "What about you?"

"I'll catch up with you in just a bit," Twilight said, "We don't know anything—it could be a random attack, or it could be a sign of things to come…I'll have to inform Princess Celestia. Hopefully she'll be able to send help…" Twilight's horn lit up a magenta color, a quill and parchment quickly floating into view just behind her.

"O-okay…I'll try to find Rainbow then, she'll be the easiest to find…" Fluttershy reasoned, running for the door.

"Fluttershy! One more thing!"

Fluttershy stopped, turning around.

"Be careful, all of you…" She added with a nod.

The pegasus could only offer the slightest, meekest of smiles as she nodded back. Fluttershy turned and, after taking a few steps, began to use her wings. With Fluttershy gone, Twilight turned back, writing the letter to her mentor.

_This just doesn't make sense…why would a dragon suddenly attack unprovoked? What's he after, anyway?_ Twilight shook her head, trying to focus, _No time for this! I can get answers later!_

She quickly scanned over her letter.

"Dear Princess Celestia … dragon has unexpectedly shown up in Ponyville … requesting help on dealing with this … Your Student… P.S., does this have anything to do with…" Twilight mumbled as she proofread her message. She quickly nodded, satisfied with her message here, and rolled up the parchment, tying it with a red ribbon.

"Spike, I need you to send a letter!"

"What for?" Spike asked from another room.

"It's urgent," Twilight responded, "I'll be out in town! Just please watch over the library until I get back! This won't be long…I hope…"

"That didn't sound good…" Her assistant snarked, "What's 'this' about then, Twilight?"

No answer.

"Twilight?"

Spike never got his answer, Twilight already up and leaving—she wasn't quite used to her new wings yet. She wasn't quite sure how she managed—maybe it was the sheer excitement of her coronation that got her through it that first time, but whatever the case, it wasn't entirely reliable yet.

Twilight didn't know what was going on, but she knew it needed to be dealt with all the same…

* * *

_**And so we start the MLP stuff. Let's see how far this goes. Drop a review if you like what you've seen so far, if you have any criticism, or the like.**_


	3. Act 1 Chapter 2

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 2: Communication Breakdown**

* * *

It wasn't anything new—since coming to Ponyville, running became second nature for Twilight. As she ran through the Ponyville streets, she began going over what little she knew about the situation.

_A dragon landed in the center of the town, and began breathing fire…_ Twilight thought to herself, _The closer I get, the less I'm sure of what's really going on…If we had a rampaging dragon on the loose, we'd have more damage than just this…_

The purple alicorn looked around, seeing a surprising lack of fire and other miscellaneous property damage. She could hear the panic as ponies were still being shuffled to safety, but she couldn't hear any other signs of calamity—and she knew very well the sound of that by now.

_It's still a problem, just a different problem… Even if the rampage isn't…extensive, the dragon's still disturbing the peace, and it has to be dealt with somehow…_

It wasn't long before she happened upon a familiar face, kneeling down next to a couple of ponies—a unicorn and an earth pony, clearly in full-on shock. The familiar face in question was none other than Rarity, another unicorn with a rather elegant fashion sense—though today she was wearing what most would consider her casual clothing, but even those seemed elegant in their own way: white shirt, black pants, high heels.

"Rarity!" Twilight called out, running towards her. As she drew close, she could see the ponies had more or less passed out from the shock. Rarity had been tending to them, but she did hear Twilight's call all the same, and she turned around to look at her.

"Twilight, it's horrible!" Rarity squealed as Twilight came close. Instantly, the alicorn princess began to reconsider her stance on the dragon.

"What happened?!" _What did the dragon do?!_

"I broke a nail!" Rarity held out her left hand, showing her index finger's nail had been, at worst, slightly chipped. Twilight stared, eye twitching, at the chipped nail for a few suspended moments before speaking again.

"What about the dragon!?" Twilight's patience was not to be tested right now (even if it was Rarity blowing things a little out of proportion), and her voice showed it when it exited her mouth at a higher volume than normal. Rarity put her hand down in response, embarrassed. She had all but forgotten about the dragon, and it showed.

"Ah, yes, well…" Rarity began, getting back on topic, "The dragon is still in town, and Fluttershy—poor dear—has joined Rainbow and Applejack in trying to apprehend it. He seems to be rather…elusive. He'll just disappear every now then."

_How could somepony lose something that big…_

"This would explain why he hasn't been caught yet," replied Twilight, "I don't get it…why would he drop into town, and then hide for this long without doing anything else?"

"Twilight, do you think it is possible that he may have entered town by accident?" Rarity asked. Twilight blinked, and looked back to Rarity.

"What makes you say that?"

"Well, before I joined in on helping keep the town under control, I happened to run into him…or, rather, he ran into me…"

"What happened?"

"It was…strange. The moment he did run into me, he merely looked at me. I was on the verge of screaming, but before I could, the strangest thing happened…"

"That thing being…"

"He backed away," Rarity summed up. Twilight could only regard the unicorn with a skeptical look as she continued, "I swear this happened: he took a few steps away from me, then turned and ran in the opposite direction—"

"That's what happened to me too!" an all-too familiar voice squealed from her right. Twilight jumped and yelped as the voice sounded. Even after a year of knowing her, she still wasn't used to her friend's inexplicable ability to teleport herself everywhere.

This was Pinkie Pie, an earth pony who was every bit as pink as her name would suggest. The party mare wore a white T-shirt, with a heart over the bosom area under a blue vest. This was completed by a short pink skirt held in place with a purple sash. However, for some reason, she was wearing blue boots that were better suited for a thunderstorm than a sunny day like this one.

"I was running with a group of ponies, and then we all saw the dragon, then the ponies were like 'AHHH!' and then the dragon was like 'Arahgah!' then the ponies ran in one direction while the dragon ran the other!" Pinkie explained it so happily that both alicorn and unicorn had to wonder if she thought it was all a funny game.

This aside, however, Twilight began to wonder what exactly was going on. Rarity and Pinkie's accounts of their time with the dragon were more or less the same.

"If that's what happened, then it looks like the dragon's trying to avoid pony contact…" Twilight said, more to herself, "But if the dragon wasn't trying to cause a trouble…then why did it breathe fire on first contact?"

"Twilight?" Rarity asked, breaking the lavender mare out of her trance at once.

"Okay," Twilight responded, "I need you two to keep the townsponies as calm as possible…I've already sent a letter to Princess Celestia about the situation, so we should be getting some kind of help soon, so keep an eye out. In the meantime, I'll go join the others…"

Rarity and Pinkie gave a small "hmph" of agreement, then the three mares split up.

_The only way I'm gonna know what's really going on here is if we manage to get the dragon under control…_

* * *

Corey had nearly gotten to town when he began to hear the distant sounds of panic. When he did hear them, he had only one thought on his mind—something was in the middle of happening. It seemed like a contrived coincidence that he'd arrive in Ponyville when something big was going down. If a vine tried to ensnare him, he was going to punch something out. Or try to, anyway.

The human-turned-unicorn was now running through the streets. He could hear the sounds of crisis loud and clear now, but the streets seemed to be mostly clear, save for a pony here and there—who, mercifully, had hands, identifiable feet, and appeared to walk on two legs just like him—passed out on the sides of the road, looking like they passed out from…shock? Confusion? Terror?

_Whatever this thing is…_ Corey thought to himself, _Must be something bad...With this in mind, there's only one thing to do: time to channel what little I can learn from video games._

With this in mind, the green unicorn slowed his pace, walking as slowly as possible, touching the ground with his heel first, toe last with each step he took. He hunched over as well, making himself smaller.

_How to walk as quietly as possible so I don't draw attention!_

Corey wondered exactly what was going down. Ponies were panicking, the town streets were devoid of life, there was something tall, dark and reptilian in his peripheral vision—

_Wait, what the hell—_

He turned his head towards where he saw something huge running down the adjacent street—or at least, he thought he saw it—it could have been just the frames of his glasses and he got confused with the stress of what was going on. However, given the frames of his glasses only took up so much of his vision, and that object was clearly massive, Corey decided to not take chances.

The former human decided to get things moving, running as quickly and as quietly as possible in the direction he saw the unidentifiable creature proceed. He slowed down a bit, hoping that if he did come across the cause of the panic, it didn't hear him approaching, and more importantly, didn't see him.

Corey looked around carefully.

_Where'd you go…_ Corey thought to himself, really hoping that whatever it was wouldn't get the drop on him right then. He slowly looked around, just in time to see a black tail slither around the corner at max speed. The male quickly reacted, shuffling as fast as he could to that corner and pressing himself flat against the nearby building. He even tried to suck in his belly a little bit just to make himself as flat as possible.

He waited a few seconds before he dared to peek around the corner.

_Definitely saw something before…_ Corey thought, _But by God, he's a slippery son-of-a—_

The sight of a black and blue head poking back out of what could have been an alleyway of sorts caused Corey to duck back around the corner, holding his breath. He closed his eyes, awaiting the sound of feet stamping his way. After several tense seconds, the unicorn dared a second look. His subject was moving quickly out of his sight. He got a good look at it: wings, black scales, ruined-looking clothing…

_So this is what feral dragons look like here, huh?_ _But who is he…he's not one of the dragons from that episode, so…Just who is he?_

"That was quick…"

Corey froze, letting out a strangled yelp. He knew the voice, but it didn't change the fact someone got the drop on him. He turned around, and was met with a sight he sort of expected: Twilight with wings. That didn't bother him. What did bother him, however, was her follow-up comment.

"You must be the help that Princess Celestia sent…"

_What is she talking about…_ Corey thought. He didn't know where to start in terms of describing exactly how wrong she was about that, but that was beside the point.

"You thought to sneak up on the dragon while it was distracted," Twilight said, "In practice, a lot more effective than charging it head-on, even if it hasn't really been attacking."

_But this is the first time I've put it in practice, and—why am I not saying this out loud?!_

"But you're going to need to catch it…" Only now did Twilight seem to be truly looking him over, "Hmm…There are some other ponies already pursuing it…"

Corey sharply inhaled, ready to say exactly how wrong she was, but the words caught in his throat. He needed to say something, how he was about as equipped to take on a dragon as a four-year-old was equipped to take on Hulk Hogan. Even with backup as capable as who he was sure she was referring to.

"Here, follow me!" she said, not letting him go on, evidently more focused on the eight foot reptile running through the city streets. Corey watched her for a few moments, his eyebrows creased in frustration.

_Why did I get involved…_ With a sigh, Corey quickly took off after her, _If this gets resolved, I might be able to state my problem anyway, so as long as I'm not eaten alive…_

Corey trailed Twilight by just a few steps, a single thought running through his mind.

_Doesn't change the fact that this is going to suck…_

* * *

"Lost him again!"

John stared up into the sky, his back against a wall in an alleyway. He had to have taken this kind of hiding spot at least five times in the past several minutes. He watched a rainbow trail fly right past him, having been hearing that voice—character, a lot since the chase started. Quickly, John chose to go the opposite direction of where he knew Rainbow had just flown.

Over time, even though he barely had any time to stand still and collect himself, he was able to start putting things together. He knew now where he was and what he was, but how it happened wasn't too clear. But it was still the last thing on his mind.

It wasn't like he could blame the town full of ponies for reacting the way they were. He had accidentally caused a panic to take the town, and he couldn't communicate at all. Well, he may have had a chance earlier, but when he sighed fire, all chance of doing so went up in smoke. His only option now—the only one he could think to undertake, was to get out of town as quickly as he could. However, that proved to be easier said than done. Nine times out of ten, when he left cover, he didn't make it far before some other bystander would see him, and pass out from shock or run away in terror.

He could only turn around and sprint away from those ponies; John figured he'd already done enough damage as it was.

"There he is!"

The fact he was being chased by not one, but two stubborn mares did not make things easier on him at all. Again, it wasn't like he could blame the ponies for how they were reacting. He'd probably have done the same if a dragon landed in the middle of town out of nowhere. John quickly turned the corner, checking over his shoulder. His pursuers were out of sight now, so he made his next move. Leaping forward into a roll, John dove into the nearest hiding spot: a bush that managed to conceal his considerably larger frame.

He waited in silence, willing himself to slow his breathing. It really wouldn't do him any good to get excited now. He could only wait, as the sounds of rapid wingbeats and footsteps grew closer.

"Dagnabbit!" This was Applejack, he could tell by the accent. This was followed by something being tossed hard on the ground, "How's he keep givin' us the slip!?"

_Good question. How do you keep losing sight of me?_

"Rainbow, you see 'em?"

"No luck, A.J., I'm gonna circle around town again, you keep checking the ground!"

The sound of rapid wingbeats and a "fwoosh" went off; Rainbow had just left. Applejack's own footsteps began to become more distant—he could hear the cowpony boots clicking on the ground for several tense seconds. John did not even move, knowing the slightest movement would cause the bush to rustle. Even for a few seconds after the sounds ceased, John did not dare move. However, once he was sure he could slip out unnoticed to the next hiding spot, or even out of town altogether, John prepared himself.

_Okay…three…two…one!_

John hopped out of the bush, intending to sprint full speed hoping he'd be able to increase the gap between himself and the others. But, before he could even take two steps, he found himself face-to-face with the worst possible citizen of Ponyville.

_Of all the ponies in this town, why'd it have to be you, Fluttershy?!_

The pegasus in question was looking up at him, her blue-green eyes wide with fear, only making a small squeak when he had leapt directly in front of her. John himself did not bother making a sound, already knowing any attempt to communicate would make her fall over, stiff as a board. Or, it'd get him staring straight into the face of Cthulhu. Whatever the case, John didn't want to hang around.

John raised his claws, lowering his body, trying to show he meant zero harm. He took several slow steps back, trying not to startle her further. However, before he could think of taking off…

"Gotcha!"

John couldn't react quick enough to stop the rope from being thrown around him, pinning his arms to his sides as the rope tightened. One strong tug later, John found himself yanked off his feet.

"Quick, tie him up!" John initially struggled, until it occurred to him what exactly his body did before without him meaning to. He was a dragon, and he wasn't sure how much damage he could cause if he got too into it.

Besides, he had done too much damage. He had no other options—he was caught. As he laid down, his arms firmly pinned to his sides and his entire torso tied up wrapped up in ropes, John had only one thing on his mind.

_All things considered…I guess there are still worse ways to spend a weekend…_

* * *

"How does it keep giving us the slip!?" Twilight shouted in frustration, "Adolescent dragons are up to ten feet tall, bigger than the average pony at any rate! And Ponyville isn't even that big of a city to begin with! How has he stayed out of sight this long?!"

Corey didn't know what to make of that. He awkwardly paused, not knowing offhand what to say. So, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well…at least he isn't causing any more damage?"

To this, Twilight sighed, "I know, but…"

Corey tilted his head, unsure of why she sounded…well, unsure of herself. "But…?"

Before she could answer, though, a voice called out from above.

"Yo, Twilight!"

Both alicorn and unicorn looked up again. Corey found himself greeted with yet another familiar yet unfamiliar sight: an anthromorphed Rainbow Dash hovering in the air, looking proud of herself. She wore a purple t-shirt and blue jeans with a pair of running shoes—shoes that seemed to be more for show than for their use—overall, not that surprising, really.

"Rainbow!" Twilight said, "How's the chase going?"

The cyan mare motioned just over her shoulder with a thumb, still looking just a little too smug. Corey could see a familiar face hunched over, carrying something big, black and blue.

It was Applejack dragging the dragon, the latter bound by a rope and looking more or less defeated. The earth pony was wearing an orange plaid shirt, tied up just above her stomach, exposing it, and a pair of jean shorts. The look was completed by a pair of cowpony boots.

Fluttershy followed a bit behind, as though afraid the dragon was going to break out. Twilight released a short sigh.

"Oh…" She said, turning to Corey, "Well, looks like we didn't need your help after a—"

Twilight cut herself off, Corey briefly looking to her and back to the captured dragon. The dragon seemed to be…confused, looking right at him. The feeling was mutual.

"Uh…" Twilight said, "I…I'm sorry, I never got your name…"

"Oh, uh, it's Corey…"

The moment Corey said his own name, the dragon seemed to come alive, flopping around onto his stomach. The others jumped—Fluttershy into the nearest bush. All eyes were on the dragon, but the dragon was now looking directly at Corey.

"Woureh?" The dragon slurred, no one understanding him. Corey paused, squinting at the dragon. He couldn't piece it together, given how far off it sounded from common English, but…

_Did he just say my—_Corey remembered what had happened before. In all the excitement he had nearly forgotten it. Right before being flung here to Equestria, both he and John appeared to be downloading a file. He wasn't quite sure if John had been pulled in, but then he heard the dragon… _Could it really be?_

Without saying anything else, Corey began to take small steps forward towards the dragon. He was aware all eyes were on him right now, but he couldn't worry about that fact.

"Don't get too close to him, no tellin' what he might do." Applejack warned Corey, but he ignored her warning. If he was right about this dragon's true identity, he didn't need to worry.

Corey stopped just short of the dragon, kneeling down next to him. The whole time, the two hadn't stopped looking to each other. It was like the black and blue reptile in front of him knew him, but there was only one way to be sure.

"What's your name?" Corey asked, ignoring the confused murmurs behind him for the moment. The dragon looked conflicted, as though he didn't know what to say. But that wasn't the case—Corey may not have been an expert emotion reader, but he could tell that the dragon was trying to say something—its jaw was opening and closing, almost as if he were testing it. Corey waited for the awkward mouthing to end. The dragon took a deep breath, and Corey felt himself flinch just a little, expecting to be barbequed.

"Yeeeahhn…" It was a slurred word.

"'Yeaahn'?" Rainbow asked, "What kind of dragon name is 'Yeeahn'? Even 'Spike' sounds better than that!"

"I'll just…take that as a compliment," Twilight responded. Yet Corey remained hung on how the word was said.

_That wasn't him slurring the word…That was him trying to sound it out…In fact, it sounded like how he said my name…But that itself doesn't make sense. Dragons in this world can talk, even if this world is a little different from how it usually is…_

Corey paused, as a thought occurred to him. He himself was a unicorn, but Corey was almost positive that if it came to using magic, he couldn't do it.

_So if this dragon can't even talk…what does 'Yeahhn' mean… 'Yeahhn'… 'Gee—yawn…'_

"John!?" Corey said, at a much louder volume than he intended.

* * *

_And at last, a horse crossed a finish line,_ John thought to himself, realizing at least Corey found his way through that Olympic feat of finding out who he was underneath the scales—nodding at this. However, he could see the others behind Corey, reacting with shock…and maybe even disgust—he couldn't tell.

"Wait, you know him?" asked Twilight. Corey froze at this, but he took a deep breath. John knew it was up to Corey to tell them what was going on. John couldn't even hope to help him here unless he could write things out. And given his arms were bound, that wasn't going to happen. Corey's face was full of confidence he could work it out, which gave John hope.

"Uh…yes. He's a friend of mine…"

_Okay, okay…Good start…_

"And…" Corey paused as though not knowing anything, "I sent us here…"

An awkward pause ensued.

_Okay, a little clumsy, but I think you can recover…_

"Wait, you mean you sent him here?!" Rainbow shouted.

"…Uh, what…" Corey started to falter, and only now did John realize something incredibly obvious, something he should he realized from the get-go.

_Wait, I have to rely on __**Corey**__ of all people to __**explain something**__ like __**this?!**_

"Well, I mean, didn't I say 'I' sent 'us' here…" Corey sounded confused, but this wouldn't stop Rainbow from jumping to conclusions—John knew that all too well.

The human turned dragon could only think of one thing to do in this situation. He knew that the obvious route: escaping, wouldn't work out well at all, and it wasn't like he felt like fighting or running away anymore since it'd just be more fuel to the fire. So, with all that in mind, John's great course of action was to slam his face onto the ground. Repeatedly.

_We're done for…_

* * *

**_And so ends this chapter. _**


	4. Act 1 Chapter 3

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 3: The Extraequestrials**

* * *

It wasn't long before Corey found himself in the Golden Oaks Library—his initial destination before everything with the dragon happened. However, he wished it wasn't under the condition that said dragon happened to be John. Now, he was situated in a chair in the main area of the library, dead center. John was a short ways behind him, still bound and not gagged. John hadn't made any further attempts at communicating, nor had Corey.

Corey hadn't been tied up…yet. He could feel the pressure on now. Surrounding him, more or less, were the mares who had been involved with catching the dragon. Fluttershy was on the other side of the room, about as far away as she could get from the dragon. Twilight, Rainbow, and Applejack, on the other hand, were more or less directly in front of him. The pegasus mare looked like she wanted to deck him then and there and be done with it. The earth pony looked unsure, but equally ready to do what she felt was necessary at the moment. Twilight, however, didn't look nearly as upset—not to say she wasn't, given what they were currently blaming him for.

"Alright," Twilight said, "We're going to give you the benefit of the doubt. You seemed like you knew what you were talking about back there…"

"Why are we doing this again?" Rainbow asked, turning to Twilight, "He did just say he sent the dragon here."

"Rainbow, I ain't likin' the look of things here either," Applejack responded, "But he seemed like he knew what he was sayin'. Either he was tryin' to tell us somethin' important, or he's nuts…"

Corey tried to suppress the urge to swallow the lump in his throat, _Well, fetch a straitjacket, because when you hear my story—_

Twilight gave her friends an uneasy look before turning to Corey, her face going from uneasy back to stern.

_I am on trial, and I've been here less than an hour…_ Corey thought, _What the hell did John do to get them this upset!? He didn't seem to do much more than scare everypony. No collateral damage was caused from what I could see besides that!_

"Alright, 'Corey'," Twilight began, only to be interrupted.

"Ain't a name I've heard…" Applejack commented, "That really your name?"

"Corey is my name…" Corey said, trying to keep himself calm. Panicking wouldn't get him anywhere, and he knew this. "The dragon is named John. I'd imagine it sounds odd to you, but I swear those are our names…"

"We're listening…" Rainbow continued, not at all changing her overall disposition.

"So, tell us your story…" Twilight said, "What did you mean earlier when you said, 'I sent us here'?"

Corey took a deep breath, then two, to compose himself. He was fairly sure this wasn't going to be believable no matter how he spun it, and he really hated explaining things. But, since John couldn't talk, it was all him. With this in mind, he began.

"Alright, I guess I should start by saying…we're not from here, at least, not in the sense that someone would say that…" Corey started. The mares before him immediately looked confused.

"…Uh…what?" Twilight asked.

"It's…How do I say this…" Corey faltered, failing to maintain eye contact, his eyes sliding across the room like a person on ice, "Um…uh…That's…basically...Have you heard of…the multiverse theory?"

"The multiverse…theory?" Rainbow cut in, confused.

"The multiverse theory…" Twilight repeated, before launching into an explanation, "Where a set of infinite universes exists, and each one can be different from the other in a variety of ways…"

There was a pause, "…I...have heard of it…Wait, are you trying to tell us you're from a parallel world…?"

"Well…yeah," Corey awkwardly said.

"I…can't say I believe you. Not when you look like…" Twilight motioned to him. Corey looked down, realizing once again he did look the part of a normal pony. "And I haven't heard of a single pony who has perfected universal travel, except in fiction…"

"I haven't heard of anyone on my end either that has…" Corey responded, "But I swear I'm not lying about any of this…I don't usually look like this, you know…"

* * *

Before anypony could stop him with another question, the green unicorn launched into an explanation, without slowing down whatsoever.

"I…" He already hesitated, "I received some sort of message on my computer…"

"'Computer'…?" Twilight parroted, but Corey continued onward.

"It was in a lot of code, code that, as a programmer on computers, I could piece together bit by bit. It took me a while to do it, but after I did, I ran the code, which caused something…odd, to happen. I'm not sure how, the code seemed like it wouldn't do anything, m-methods here and there that pointed to nothing, but when it did happen, it attached itself to Sk-Skype, and began to download or upload, I'm not sure which. Either way, when the download finished, I woke up n-not too far outside the town."

Nopony could say a word, still stuck on half the things the pony they were sure was insane was trying to convey.

"Hold on—" Twilight tried to interrupt him, but Corey kept going.

"As for why John's here too, I was t-talking to him over my c-computer using…using Skype," Corey continued his tale, "This is actually the first t-time we've seen each other since we b-became friends…"

"Back up!" Rainbow finally interjected, "What is all this about? Code, computers, Skype!? I don't know what any of these are! How do we know you're not just making this all up to save your hide?!"

Applejack remained silent for a bit, as though considering what Corey was saying. However, her opinion wasn't too high.

"I'm not making it up…" Corey continued. His voice was still calm, but his face…

He was obviously panicking now.

"Girls, if you would…" Right there, a few steps from the accused unicorn, they fell into a huddle.

"What do you two think?" Twilight asked.

"You actually believe his story?" Rainbow questioned.

"He sounds like he knows what he's talkin' about, but…" Applejack said, "He could just as easily be lying through his teeth and believin' his own lies…"

"Or he's a madpony who can't even explain anything…"

The others glanced over to the captured dragon, who Corey had referred to as "John", and "a friend". The reptile was currently slamming his face into the floor.

"Then again, I ain't totally sure what's going on," Applejack continued.

"I'm not sure…He goes on like he knows what he's talking about, but…" Twilight looked up, "I don't know…"

"I'm thinkin' he escaped from a loony bin not too long ago…" Rainbow whispered. "Not sure how much longer I can keep it down…"

The mares quickly broke their huddle, Twilight speaking again, "You didn't explain any of this: what is a 'computer'?"

Now Corey looked like he just tripped over an exposed root, "A computer is…is…A computer is…a device…where things happen…and those things can keep going…It's what things called 'programs' do, and I know how to code those, and…and…"

The dragon once again slammed his face into the ground.

_He seems to know what these things are, but he can't put it into words…_ Twilight thought, _I'm…not sure…_

"Your story is interesting, 'Corey'…" It was still awkward to say, "But it's hard to believe. The multiverse theory is just that, a theory. Like I said before, nopony's perfected such a thing outside of fiction. You might know of all these things we barely know, but it could have been from another work of fiction that I haven't touched yet…"

"You? _Not_ touching a book?" Rainbow asked. "Sounds just as fishy as what he's been spouting…"

"I want to believe you're not making this up," Twilight continued, "But I can't. I need physical proof that you're not just spinning words. What proof do you actually have that this all happened?"

The green unicorn's mouth opened, but no sound came out. It closed, but to open again without result. It seemed to be sinking in now.

"You don't have any, do you?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I guess we've talked long enough," Rainbow scoffed.

"Well, I suppose we'd better go into the other room…" Twilight said, "If you'll excuse us?"

"Of course…" Corey whispered, nodding. His voice was low and…surprisingly hoarse sounding, for lack of a better term. Which was weird, considering he couldn't have even said that much. The dragon continued to remain perfectly still, more or less.

The three mares—no, four, Fluttershy had already relocated to the next room as soon as Twilight had brought it up. Rarity and Pinkie were still tending to the shocked ponies that had come into contact with the dragon. They were sure to arrive soon enough. While Twilight would have preferred to have had all her friends present, she surely could understand the simple fact they couldn't be present for Corey's explanation.

And she was sure that no matter how many times she heard his story, it still wouldn't add up completely.

"Alright girls, what do you think?" asked Twilight, breaking the silence of the room.

"I think he's nuts!" Rainbow announced as bluntly as possible, obviously not caring if they heard from the next room. The others turned to her, brows arched. "Oh c'mon, I can't be the only one thinking it!"

"I'll admit that Corey's story may seem a little—"

"Crazy?"

"Convoluted," Twilight ignored Rainbow's aside, "But be that as it may, I'm not so sure we should dismiss everything he's said so quickly."

"You're sayin' that you believe his multiverse story?" asked Applejack, "Didn't you say it was just a theory?"

"I did, and as I said, there is no known proof that it is possible to travel between parallel universes. But then again, there was no proof that a pony could simply turn into an alicorn until about a month ago."

Twilight had a point; all the mares in the room remembered very well those events. The capabilities of magic were still surprising them, even after everything they'd been through since meeting.

"So you're saying that it might be possible," All heads turned to Fluttershy, who had spoken up for the first time since the conversation had moved to the library. She shrunk just a little from the sudden attention, but kept right on going anyway, "But…we don't know it yet?"

"Hey, just because magic can do a lot of things doesn't mean it explains everything," Rainbow continued, unconvinced. Twilight put her hand to her chin, contemplating this.

_She's right too, just because somepony makes a claim they can do something through magic, doesn't mean the claim is true. _Twilight said, _On the other hand, if we went purely by appearances, this case would be open-and-shut, no doubt about it. Still…_

"I guess you're right…"

"Well…um, w-what about the d-dragon?" asked Fluttershy.

"You mean the dragon that terrorized the whole town?" questioned Rainbow, "What about him?"

"W-well…I-I was just…wondering if…um, he was really so bad?"

There were two things seriously wrong with that statement on the surface: one, it was _Fluttershy_ of all ponies who was saying this about a _dragon_, and two, well, Rainbow's expression after her meek friend suggested this.

"Are you serious, Fluttershy?!" Rainbow shouted, "Do you remember what he did?!"

"What…_did _he do?" Applejack asked, looking out the window, "No fires were started, nothing was destroyed other than the road where he made his landin'. Outside of that, he seemed to be desperately avoiding doing any more damage than he already had. Does that really sound like somethin' a terrorizin' dragon would do?"

_Another good point… _Twilight thought to herself, when something else occurred to her, something that was pretty obvious in hindsight, "Not to mention, he has wings. If he wanted to get out of town, he could have just flown away, but instead he ran around. But was that because he refused to fly, or because he couldn't fly?"

"How could a dragon that old not know how to fly?" Rainbow cut in yet again.

"It's possible," Twilight said, "If he didn't grow up as a dragon to begin with…"

The room fell silent again. Things were slowly beginning to come together.

"So maybe both of them did come from a parallel world or whatever," Rainbow said, "Then why do they look like they do, and why are they here now?"

"He tried to explain that, but he totally lost us, remember," Applejack reminded her, "Talkin' about weird stuff that don't even exist here…"

"I just remembered…" Twilight suddenly said, "When I heard about the dragon, I sent Celestia for help. When I first saw him, I thought Corey was the help…but now I see that definitely isn't the case regardless…Whatever the case, you'd think we'd have gotten a response by now…"

All eyes turned to the door as a loud bang, accompanied by a flash, filled the room. Immediately, all present became worried, in their own unique ways of course.

"Don't tell me he just—" Twilight started.

"That punk!" Rainbow interrupted, leading the charge towards the door.

The next thing Twilight knew, Rainbow had practically barged through the door, but stopped just a moment later. The others soon realized precisely why she had stopped. There was a tall figure in a long, regal white dress, her exposed fur a distinctly white-pink, if anything…not that'd you'd be able to tell from a casual glance. Her mane and tail—multiple colors—flowed gently, despite the total lack of wind in the room. She also had gold gauntlets and boots. Her wings were gently folded, and one could see a unicorn's horn coming out of her forehead.

She appeared to be looking over the two alleged dimension-hoppers. Corey hadn't moved an inch from the chair, but appeared to be slouching over more in the chair. John also hadn't moved at all, flat on the ground, looking up at the newcomer with wide eyes. A silence hung for a moment, but it was Twilight who broke it.

"P-Princess Celestia?!" she gasped, completely startled. As though realizing they were there for the first time, she turned her head up and turned towards them. Each of them immediately moved to show respect; Rainbow landing on the ground to kneel.

"I apologize for the unexpected intrusion," Celestia responded, the group slowly rising back to a standing posture, "And I also apologize for not replying earlier, but I was investigating something important."

"Something…important?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes, but your letter actually helped me," The solar princess continued, "A few minutes before I had received your letter, there was a magical…disturbance, of some kind. Even now, I do not know all of the details. It wasn't until I read your letter about the dragon suddenly appearing in Ponyville that I realized there might have been a connection."

"I should mention, there were actually two, but they happened so close together it was like it happened all at once—but from each of these, an object of some kind had come out."

At this point, the seeming implausibility of Corey's story didn't matter anymore. The pieces moved together quickly in Twilight's head.

_John couldn't fly because he __**wasn't**__ born a dragon, he was made one…which means Corey wasn't born a unicorn either… _Twilight thought, _They both had no idea the other was here…Which means…But then…_

"So, then, those…those objects…?" Fluttershy began.

"No way…" Rainbow's expression had turned to shock when she finally realized what had happened.

"Even though it still doesn't explain the holes Corey's story had," Twilight responded, "at least we know something more important. He—and John—are from a parallel universe, where such things like 'computers' and 'Skype' _do_ exist!"

"So…he was tellin' the truth this whole time?!" Applejack exclaimed, utterly dumbfounded, either because she didn't see it, or she just couldn't believe such a fantastic story.

"Well," Princess Celestia paused, turning back to Corey, "You two appear to not mean any harm in any case."

"Guess we'd better untie the dragon, then—" Rainbow started.

_**Snap!**_

All eyes turned to John, who was finally standing, stretching his arms and—rather awkwardly, his newfound wings. The rope that had bound him for the past several minutes was snapped to pieces around him. Everypony—everyone—paused at the sight.

"So you could have just done that whenever?" Rainbow asked.

John attempted to answer, but apparently thought better of it, instead nodding.

"Didn't mean ya'll had to do it," Applejack pointed out, "Those don't grow on trees, y'know!"

John's response: an innocent-looking smile. Keep in mind, he was still a dragon, so the result was…less than innocent-looking.

"So…" Princess Celestia paused. For a few moments, Corey stared blankly, as though he didn't quite understand why she'd done so. Eventually it occurred to him.

"Oh!" Corey shook his head, "Uh, I-I'm Corey, he's John. I'm guessing he can't talk…for some reason."

"Corey," The solar princess continued onward, "If you would, explain what happened to you before you got here, if you can?"

The second time around wasn't any easier to hear than the first. Granted, Corey did pause to try to explain some of the stuff on his end this time around (keyword being try), but even then, it didn't quite add up.

_So he got a message, with some code—text that when assembled, creates a program—something that runs on a computer and does something. When he ran the resulting program, Skype started to act erratically, and the next thing he knew, he was here…_

Twilight had to admit she took away a lot more from this than she had the first time around. Princess Celestia hardly showed much of a reaction to Corey's story, seeming to take careful notes of not only what Corey was saying but how he was saying it. After a year under her wing, Twilight had to guess that her mentor was making sense of what Corey was trying to convey but failing.

* * *

"Sorry if…sorry if anything…seems a little off," Corey finished, seeming to be slightly more comfortable talking about his situation now that someone could back him up on his story, "I'm…I'm just not that great at explaining things, and with everything that's happened, I'm not—"

Corey came to a halt when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing the solar princess looking down upon him with the same kind of gentleness that was present when she walked on four legs—a gentle, warm smile. Even before she had spoken to him, there was a presence about her, one that Corey felt was warm and comforting.

"You need not apologize," she said, "You have done all you could to explain what happened, and I could not ask for more."

By now, it was no secret Corey was already stressing over the predicament he was in. The circumstances only made it worse: having to explain it alone, John having royally (and inadvertently) pissed off the locals, not fully understanding what had happened himself. But with those simple words, Corey's stress melted away.

_She's every bit as kind as the show says she is…_ Corey thought quietly to himself.

"However…" Celestia said, "What you just explained has revealed something even you haven't noticed as of yet. This 'computer' that you spoke of was the source that let you cross into our world, and it appears that it did not make the jump with you…"

It hadn't really occurred to Corey that the laptop he owned was that important to the story until she brought it up. Now that he was thinking about it, he was sucked into his laptop screen. He still wasn't sure how it worked that way, but whatever the case, once he assembled the hidden message and ran the code, he was here, without his computer.

_And here, technology like that does not exist…which means…_

For the first time, Corey truly realized what kind of situation he was in, his eyes widening. He cast a quick glance to John; sure enough, the dragon's own eyes were wide.

"…Which means…w-we're stuck here…"

* * *

_**And that's where I leave off until next time. Drop a review if you liked what you see so far, or what you think I should have changed. **_


	5. Act 1 Chapter 4

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 4: Cooldown Period**

* * *

It wasn't like the mares in the room hadn't had their own freak-outs—far from it, really. Each of them could probably name at least one time where they'd totally lost it. However, it also wasn't every day you saw a colt who you just learned ten seconds ago was an alien in a pony's body have a very similar breakdown. He was pacing back and forth, one hand pressed to his forehead—was he aware of the horn on his forehead now?

"I can't believe this," Corey huffed, "How could it have turned out like this? I mean, a hidden message that only I can see starts to appear out of nowhere. Next thing I'm putting it together…"

"Now that I'm thinking about it, who does that?!" Corey paused, now appearing like he was entirely in his own world now, ranting to himself, "What kind of _idiot_ just decides to compile a message he got off the internet—the _internet_, of all places!"

Corey continued to rant and rave, John merely looking on with an indifferent expression on his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he was sort of enjoying the first show of emotion other than terror and confusion from Corey, even if it was his habit of rambling on.

"Forgive me," Princess Celestia said, getting his attention, "But, shouldn't you try to calm him?"

John couldn't answer vocally at the moment. He was taking in the sight of Corey rambling about his problems…

_Wait…rambling…Oh, no…She's actually right…but not because of the simple reason…_ John thought, _When he gets like this, he tends to go on for minutes. And he tends to say whatever. Hardly a problem at home, but here…There's too much to explain already…Corey dodged the world origin thing before, how Equestria was just a—_

"I didn't have to do it!" Corey continued, "But my curiosity, that idiotic curiosity, got the better of me, and now look where we are!"

_Oh crap! Gotta get him to stop, now!_ John quickly began to walk over to Corey, the latter not paying him any attention, still mid-rant.

"In a world that up until about an hour ago-!"

John reached out his clawed hand and did the only thing he could think to do to get Corey's attention: flick Corey's ear, hard.

"Ow!" Corey snarled, immediately holding his hand to his ear, "Hey, John, what did you—"

The dragon found himself wishing he could answer with his voice, but even if he did have it, he probably couldn't use it. John merely pointed to the others silently, subtly. Thankfully, Corey could see the utter confusion on their faces, and got the message.

"I…Uh…I was doing it again, wasn't I?" asked Corey sheepishly as he fully came to terms with what exactly had just happened.

John hmphed and nodded, glad he stopped Corey's tirade before things got complicated. Corey averted his gaze, blushing lightly while looking extremely uncomfortable.

"You know, if I still didn't believe that thing about him being from some parallel world, that would've sealed it…" Rainbow observed.

"What makes you say that?" Twilight asked.

"Well, Twilight," The athlete responded, "He just had a _you_ moment…"

Twilight recoiled slightly, blushing only a light amount. Her tone sounded as though she'd been slapped, "R-Rainbow-!"

_**SLAM!**_ "We're heeereeee~!" An all-too-familiar voice, punctuated by the loud sound of the door slamming open, got everyone's attention real quick.

"Pinkie Pie, the least you could do is knock on a pony's door before—" Rarity didn't quite get through scolding Pinkie for barging in unannounced before both saw the dragon and gasped, Rarity's a bit more…shrill, "—Twilight, what is _that __**thing**_ doing here—and, oh Goddess, loose?!"

John flinched slightly at her words. Corey did as well, but at least he could finally stop blushing.

"R-Rarity!" Twilight stuttered, trying to recover from the unexpected intrusion. Thankfully, if anypony in the room knew how to diffuse a situation, it was Princess Celestia—and she moved to do so instantly.

"Now, now, my little ponies—"

"P-Princess Celestia…" Rarity said, coming out of a slight trance, only now seeming to realize the sun princess was there. "My apologies, I—"

"I believe we were all victims of a slight…misunderstanding, here…"

* * *

Hearing the story a third time served to ingrain everything that Corey had revealed—both intentionally and unintentionally, deep into Twilight's mind. Of course, as they listened to the explanation, Rarity went from surprised that the princess was there to skeptical of the whole tale to flat-out confused. Pinkie—well, it was hard to say what was going through her mind when she heard all of this. Soon enough, though, the explanations ended, leaving Rarity and Pinkie to go over what they heard.

"I…" Rarity started, still confused, "Forgive me, but all of that is…a little hard to believe."

"Join the club," Rainbow commented flatly.

"We thought the same," Twilight responded, "But after we put some thought into it, along with what Princess Celestia told us, about the distortions, it turns out their story does add up…"

Rarity took a second look towards Corey and John, more specifically the latter. This was the dragon she'd called a monster. When said dragon was more or less terrified of her—maybe not terrified, per se, but he definitely didn't look like he wanted to do anything else.

_He ran right up to me and then turned and ran the other way…_ Rarity thought to herself, _And hardly a dragon alive would run like that __**from**__ a pony—in fact, they would fly. Plus, the dragon had come seemingly out of nowhere, and had not done any damage to the town while he was running…Oh…oh dear…_

"So this whole thing was…" Rarity began, biting her lip in guilt over what she had said when she first saw John, "Just an accident?"

Both Corey and John only nodded.

"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie went off like a chattering bomb as she finally processed the infodump she'd been given, "I didn't see this coming, I mean, I thought just the dragon being in town for no reason was the real reason my Pinkie Sense was going off, but then there was so much more, with the computers, and the code, and a lot of other things I don't even know what those are, maybe from another world kinda like ours, but not really…"

As the hyperactive pony continued her long-winded run-on sentence about the situation at hand, Rarity decided to move close to John, likely in case he couldn't hear her over Pinkie.

"I hope you'll forgive me for earlier…" Rarity said, "I was not expecting any of this."

John, for some reason, still didn't talk, instead shrugging it off physically. At least, that's what Corey translated.

"I think he accepts your apology…" Corey said, awkwardly, having watched that mini-exchange.

"Why hasn't he said anything," Rarity said, "Is he really that shocked?"

"I…don't…" Corey began, "Why aren't you talking, John?"

John opened his mouth to respond, but all that came out was a feral-sounding snarl. The dragon's brow knit in frustration, clearly having had his fill of communication failure for the day. He rubbed at the back of his head, looking significantly troubled.

"Ugh, the guy can't even speak," Rainbow pointed out, "How's he gonna tell us anything?"

"Why doesn't he just write it down?"

Everyone turned to see Spike, arms crossed, having just stated the most obvious solution. He was maybe taller than what Corey or John remembered, but it was hard to tell for sure. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt—typical school age wardrobe, really. At the much smaller dragon's suggestion, the larger one proceeded to apply his palm to his face.

_Why didn't I think of that?!_ Twilight thought, _I live in a library, for crying out loud…_

The alicorn wasn't immediately sure if she saw the green unicorn going through similar thoughts, from the way his left arm twitched at his side in conjunction with his eye.

However, as stupid as it was no one immediately thought of that, John was soon given a piece of parchment and a quill to write down his thoughts on. He did so quickly—taking to using his claws as hands and the fact he was writing with a feather. John then passed his paper to Corey.

"So, what's it say?" Rainbow asked, as the unicorn looked over his friend's note. For some reason, Corey grimaced a few times when he did so, but nonetheless began to read it after a couple of seconds.

"First of all, I want to say that I'm sorry about the panic I caused. That fire I breathed was an…accident," Corey read aloud, seeming to struggle with reading John's note.

"But now that I'm…" Corey grumbled something under his breath, John looking just a little offended, "thinking about it…I think I know why, but it's a little hard to explain. My throat feels different than it did before, along with my tongue. I can't seem to get it to work right…"

Corey then turned to John, whispering something along the lines of "Think you could make your next note neater?"

Rainbow shot Twilight a small look, the latter shaking her head with a mild groan.

_So Corey goes on rambles when he's nervous and can't move past little things…_ she thought, _It doesn't mean anything!_

"That's it, for what John wrote," Corey said, turning back to them.

"Why couldn't he have been the one who could talk…" Rainbow flatly said, finally responding to John's note.

"Well, that hardly seems polite," Rarity responded.

"Trust me Rares, you'd be thinking the same if you were around the first time…"

Twilight, meanwhile, began to decipher John's note, using things she already knew.

_What's John trying to say here? _she asked herself, _When they entered Equestria, their bodies did change, but Corey can still talk normally. So at least, between whatever he really is and a pony, there isn't that much of a difference in anatomy. But a dragon's anatomy is different…So then…_

"That's it!" Twilight called out, snapping her fingers, "A dragon is not only capable of breathing fire, but can also withstand a great amount of heat—their digestive system is also very strong too. Their internal organs are far different from that of a pony—sturdier, too. That being said, it probably means you went through some _significant _changes on the inside, John…"

John visibly cringed, as though something returned to him, moving a hand over his chest. He motioned to Corey. At first, Corey looked to John, confused, before realizing he wanted the note back. John quickly scribbled something down, and returned it to Corey.

"Oh for the love of—" Corey grumbled audibly, sounding annoyed. "Now I know you did it on purpose…"

"What's it say?" Rainbow sounded lightly amused if anything.

Corey squinted at the paper, not even bothering to grumble under his breath this time, "Guess that explains…the pain I felt…"

"Twi," Applejack said, returning the subject to what Twilight had explained, "What you're sayin' is he just needs to get used to his body?"

"That's the gist of it…" Twilight nodded.

"Well, John, you'll have time," Corey turned to John, "Looks like we're st-st-st…" Corey paused, crossing his eyes in frustration at the stutter that so ineloquently dropped itself into his speech, "**Stuck**! Here for a while in any case…"

"Perhaps not," Princess Celestia interrupted, both of the aliens looking towards her, "There may be a way to send you back, but I don't know for sure…"

"Is she talking about…?" Rainbow mumbled to herself, but nopony really paid her any mind.

"I shall return to the castle and see if the proper arrangements can be made. Until then, however, you are in a whole new world. Why not see what Ponyville has to offer in the meantime?"

Just as suddenly as she had appeared, the solar princess had vanished. Everyone gathered blinked in surprise for a few moments.

* * *

_What exactly was she referring to there? _Corey thought, _I guess I'll find out later. Looks like I'm here for a while in any case._

"Well you heard the princess!" chirped Pinkie, bringing Corey straight out of his thoughts faster than ever, "We have two new visitors to Ponyville, and being the super duper party planner that I am, I'm going to give you a grand tour!"

The hyperactive earth pony wrapped her arm around Corey, pulling him a little closer than he would have liked to be with all that had happened so far. From there, she wrapped her other arm around John's, causing him to stumble towards her a bit.

Corey distinctly felt himself start to wonder if Pinkie was scared to begin with.

"I think there's a small problem with that idea, Pinkie," Applejack interjected. Pinkie turned her head to the rest of the group.

"I think you mean, big problem," Rainbow added, "As in, bigger than _Big Mac_ problem."

The cyan mare motioned to John, who looked down, apparently for the first time realizing exactly how tall he was. Corey didn't quite get to make a comparison—was Celestia the same height as John, or taller? Shorter?

"We might know his story," Twilight pointed out, "But the rest of Ponyville doesn't. They see him out there again, they start panicking all over again—at least, maybe if he was alone. If he's with one of us, though, maybe the town will see he really did come in peace…"

"Oh!" Rarity cut in, "And if he were with Fluttershy, then—"

_**SLAM! SLAM!**_

All heads turned to see the door, and out an adjacent window, they could see Fluttershy quickly retreating.

"Aaaand she's gone," Rainbow observed, rubbing at her temple, "C'mon, 'Shy…Don't take it too hard, she's afraid of any dragon bigger than Spike." The last part of her statement was directed at John.

"Still, I believe it'd work so long as you're around at least one of us," Twilight repeated.

Corey turned to John, who was once again writing away. After finishing his message, he passed it to Corey.

_Okay, at least he's trying…His writing's getting better already…_ Corey thought, "What about my appearance? …He's got a point. Even if-if we all traveled with him the ponies in town still wouldn't take to his appearance."

A silence fell over the room, as everypony thought of a way this problem could be solved. John's clothes were torn—was he wearing those clothes and they got torn by the transformation? Corey banished this thought, trying to come up with an—

"Idea~" Rarity announced, getting everypony's attention, "I believe I may have just the solution."

Her next words floored the room. "Remove your vest."

Everyone else looked varying degrees of uncomfortable with that statement. Ironically, John only blinked.

"Way to make a new dragon feel welcome!" Rainbow called out, bluntly announcing the group's consensus on how that sounded.

"Oh, no, no, no, no, no," Rarity said, "I merely need to get some idea for how large his frame is now…oh, and I simply must do something about those pants…"

"And there's the part where she gets carried away…" Applejack observed.

Corey said nothing, already knowing full well Rarity was in fact getting ahead of herself.

_I mean, c'mon, it's not like he's gonna…_

Corey's train of thought derailed, probably caught in a pileup with at least two others, when John, with little more than a shrug and sigh, handed over the remnants of a shirt without a fight.

…_and that is the most awkward handoff heard around the world…_

Rarity examined the torn fabric, tilting her head and seeming to focus on the neck area. Corey figured she might have seen some sort of tag indicating the shirt's size—but he wasn't totally sure.

"I believe I have something to work with here…" Rarity announced, folding the tattered remains of what could have easily been a shirt, "I must go back to the boutique so I can be prepared for this! Will anypony help me?"

Spike seemed to hesitate just a little bit—perhaps still reeling from the vest exchange, "O-of course, you can count on me…"

Corey wasn't sure if he imagined the slightest traces of a death glare or not, but shrugged it off easily enough.

"Oh, believe me, darling, I know I can count on you…" Rarity said, "Anypony else?"

"Afraid I've gotta take a rain check on that, Rarity," Applejack responded, "Was in the middle of chores when John came crashin' down…"

"Pass," Rainbow flatly said.

"Oh!" Pinkie interjected, "I just remembered I was gonna go cheer up ponies after everything settled! Gotta go! Ciao!"

With that, Pinkie left, leaving behind a Pinkie Pie-shaped dust cloud in her wake. Corey blinked.

_So…is that what it looks like when characters inexplicably teleport…_

Twilight looked over to Corey and John, seeming to come to a conclusion.

"I think I'd better stay with them," Twilight said, "You know, just in case the Princess comes back with an answer…"

With that, just about everypony else left in a hurry, leaving Corey, John, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle in the library.

* * *

_**Reviews are appreciated. So what's Celestia referring to? Find out next time, though I'm sure a few of you might have guessed.**_


	6. Act 1 Chapter 5

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 5: The Overview**

* * *

All in all, Twilight Sparkle had never thought she'd see the day where creatures from another world came to hers. Never mind the fact they'd be somehow morphed into something that didn't look alien to her world—though she wasn't quite sure why it happened all the same. And yet, here two such creatures were—one resembling a unicorn, the other an aged dragon (more aged than Spike, anyway). Such an opportunity couldn't be missed.

"You really wanna do this, Twi?" Rainbow asked, "I mean, they just got here…"

"We don't know how much longer they'll be here," Twilight responded, "For all we know, Princess Celestia could be making arrangements to send them home as we speak! I simply can't pass up an opportunity to learn about another world—now that I know at least one _actually exists_!"

Corey and John looked to each other. If anypony paid special attention to Corey's face, they'd have probably seen the briefest twinge of terror on his face. Incidentally, now that he was sure that things would be fine, his face hadn't had much of an expression at all.

"Suit yourself," The cyan mare said.

Since Rarity and Spike had yet to return—most likely because Rarity was still thinking of what she could do to help John's situation—Twilight had taken the opportunity to construct a survey.

And she was about to start it.

"I have put together a list of questions I want to ask, before Rarity comes back," Twilight said, in a tone of voice that was stern—one that, had Corey and John not been informed she was going to ask them questions, would have tipped them off she wasn't going to back down from this. The list hovered in front of her—cloaked in the same magenta glow as her horn was, along with a quill and ink bottle.

"Uh," Corey stuttered, his right hand obscuring his lower jaw, letting off awkward smiles, "Guess it's not every day a primary source just…just drops into your laps, huh?"

John shot Corey a small look, the latter seemingly not noticing.

"I'm glad to see you understand," Twilight said with a smile, "Alright, so my first question…" She held the quill with her left hand, tapping a part near the top of the list. "What do you guys usually look like, back in your world?"

"Um…" Corey said, attempting to answer, "Uh…For me, at least, not all that different—John wasn't eight feet tall and doesn't usually have scales, so he's different—You see, we're…uh…normally these creatures called…'Humans'…? Physically, not that different, but…but we can't use magic or fly—and our ears are on the sides of our heads, and…I think, that's more or less it—Oh! And we don't have tails either!"

"Minor anatomical differences from ponies…no magic…" Twilight said, "I assume your world has no magic whatsoever, then?"

Corey nodded with a small, awkward grunt, while John nodded too.

"No magic?" Rainbow questioned, "How does the weather work then? I mean, does anypony control it?"

"Well, no," The unicorn said, "It just kinda…happens."

"The weather cycles like in the Everfree Forest?!" Rainbow asked, "Get out! The next thing you'll tell me is that the animals in the wild don't need special care!"

The ensuing silence told Twilight—and Rainbow, all they needed to know.

"Oh…oh goddess, you're not joking…" said the pegasus, lightly shocked.

Twilight scribbled down the information she just heard, nodding, almost unfazed by that revelation.

_It is a parallel world without magic, I suppose that much was to be expected, but still…_

"So are all the humans in one country?" Twilight asked, earning her two very confused glances, "I mean…well, we're in Equestria, and you'll find mostly ponies in this country, but then we have dragon country out to the southeast, and griffons in another country, and so on…"

"Uh…no," Corey said, "There are different kinds of humans all over the world…I forgot to mention, we aren't covered in fur—or at least, not so much you can't see the skin underneath—yeah, um…some people are…peach-colored, others, uh…chocolate-colored…" His face pinched a little, "Just some of the tones you'll find. But no one over there's like, green or blue or jet black or anything…"

"I see…" Twilight continued to scribble down notes, "All of this is very interesting…I might be able to find something on humans at least…Hmm…So, what's human culture like? Is it any different from ours?"

Corey seemed to bristle. His face seemed to contort in discomfort, and he offered naught but a simple, "Um…uh…"

At this point, John put one of his massive hands on Corey's shoulder, getting his attention.

"Oh, you want to take it from here?" Corey asked.

John gave a simple nod.

"Uh…alright," Corey said, looking…relieved, maybe? "Makes sense…I really wouldn't be able to offer much anyway…"

The dragon only nodded again, this time in a sort of understanding manner. Twilight felt somepony nudge at her side, and turned to see Rainbow, now looking slightly amused. With a simple scoff, the newly coronated princess turned to John.

"So…" Twilight glanced to her list. "Hmm…" She floated the list over to John. "If you can, keep it concise—I still have more questions to ask…"

John began to go to work, writing away, the quill scratching away. It took him a short while to get all his thoughts down. Corey just seemed to wait, taking glances at the paper's direction. At one point, he fiddled with his glasses, but he pretty much offered no help to John.

John finished his answer, and passed the paper over to the lavender alicorn. It wasn't too hard to read what John had wrote down.

"A lot more cultures than I can count…" Twilight repeated aloud, reading the human-turned-dragon's answer. "Could you give me an estimate, so that I can have an idea?"

John wrinkled his nose, clearly thinking. Corey didn't seem to respond at all. After several seconds, John made a motion towards the paper. The paper went back to John. He wrote his answer, and Twilight read.

"Fifteen, off the top of your head?" Twilight asked. She looked off to her left, as though considering something. Her focus entirely on John now, she decided to pass him the list, only on the blank side of the parchment. She hardly made two-sided lists, and given the time she'd figured she'd have to work with, hadn't prepared an extensive one—extensive by her standards anyway.

"Would you mind writing down anything about the cultures you know about?" Twilight asked. It took a long while—John would often pause to think of what to write next, but she remained focused on the quill scratching its way across the paper, trying to predict what she was about to read, and yet knowing it was impossible to truly do so.

Eventually, though, John managed to finish his written work, and turned it back over to Twilight, who began to go over the writing there.

…_a culture a human is part of depends on what part of the world is born in, similar to our world…_

* * *

Corey had slipped away from the group when John took over the interview, somehow having managed to avoid being spotted. Actually, Twilight had seemed far more focused on John's notes than anything else at the moment. As for Rainbow, she looked like she was mentally nodding off from all the nerdy indulgence Twilight was doing.

_Go ahead and let her know,_ Corey thought, _Not like I can really say anything…besides, we know how…volatile I can get when it comes to that kind of thing…_

He turned out the window, seeing shapes—distant pegasus ponies, no doubt—working on…something, he was sure. The former human stared out the window, looking through what he could see.

_Even if nothing bad's happening here right now, I still feel stupid for putting together the code… _Corey thought, _But why? Why was there code that did this? I'd have maybe understood it if it were a virus…a thing that was an insanely elaborate way to print "Thanks for watching the episodes, brony!"…but why did it do this, of all things? Why did it warp me and John here…? _

"Hi…"

Corey was called out of his thoughts real quick by the sound of Twilight's voice—yes, when he turned to the voice, he saw her looking at him. Behind her, he could see Rainbow with the paper with all of Twilight's notes…setting them aside before turning to John.

"O-oh, h-hey…" Corey stuttered, not paying too much mind to that, more worried she was trying to talk to him. And…standing right next to him.

"You were so quiet I didn't notice you had walked off…" Twilight said, "Everything alright?"

"Sorry, I—uh…" Corey stumbled over the ability to form speech, "I just wasn't sure I-I'd be able to answer any of your questions. Like you saw…I'm not that good in…in conversation."

"Well, you were under a lot of stress at the time," Twilight was obviously trying to give him comfort, something which Corey had to give her credit for, "But now that everything's fine, maybe we can try again?"

"I…uh…" Corey said, "Okay…?"

Anypony paying attention to Corey's face might see the discomforted, shifting emotional expression on his face, almost as if he didn't know what emotion he should have all of a sudden.

"So…um," Twilight did catch the awkward tic, but it didn't stop her. She cast a quick glance behind her—Rainbow was turned to John, but she couldn't tell what was going on over there—but Corey was surprised to see her horn wasn't lit up—she wasn't floating the list over. "What do humans…" She paused, casting another glance behind her, much longer than before. Corey could just see her lower jaw slightly contort, as if she were biting her lip.

_Does she want her list, or something…?_ Corey thought to himself, but Twilight soon turned back to him…shaking her head slightly?

"What do humans do for fun?" Twilight questioned.

"For fun…" Corey began to think.

_Don't wanna go into video games since I don't have a visual aid…same with animating…She'd get sprites confused with mythical sprites…That leaves…_

"Well, some humans tend to…make up stuff…like stories!" Corey hit his mark, and he felt it deep down. He felt safe talking about that particular hobby.

"Stories? So your world has books too!" Twilight responded, but Corey kept going.

"Right! Some of us do it for a job, others do…do it as a sort of…hobby…" Corey felt only a little hesitant in admitting this next part, "I'm one of them…"

"Really?!" Twilight asked, "so…um, how does…how does that work?"

Corey paused. _Is she trying to make me feel comfortable…_

However, he soon cast aside this thought in favor of his answer…

* * *

"I don't know where to start, really. It feels like...like I can do anything. Like, I can free myself from the shackles of daily life, and just go into something I made up, and build everything as it goes. The feeling is hard to describe, really…It's like…like…the pen is merely a medium to transmit a river of creativity to the paper. The paper then stands as a tome to all of that!"

_Listening to him speak now, you'd never guess he was the same guy who fumbled so badly explaining human technology—something's he's supposed to be a pro in, or something like that…_ John thought to himself. _For that matter, you start wondering how he can't talk to girls…_

"You must write a lot, huh?" Twilight asked.

_She's clearly not asking him any of her questions anymore…_ John mused, watching the spectacle. _Meh, whatever. _

"I've been writing on the side ever since I was real young," Corey confirmed, with all semblance of skittishness and anxiety vanishing now. "It's been something I've worked at since I was incredibly young."

John heard somepony on his left snicker. It wasn't hard to realize who it was. Rainbow looked to him with an all-too mischievous grin. She made a small motion towards them, but didn't say anything. Not that John needed to hear her speak to know where she was going.

John knew there was only one way he could get this pegasus to respond to his concerns. He took a deep breath—through his nose, before pressing his clawed hand to his throat. He reached out, touching Rainbow's shoulder.

His face contorted, his throat tightened, and he began to, very carefully, force air out of his mouth in conjunction with moving his tongue. He spoke, very clearly, one word.

"_Don't_."

* * *

Equestria's capital city, Canterlot, was a fair way north of Ponyville. Towards the center of the much larger and louder city, stood Canterlot Castle, the home of the rulers of the land. Currently, the solar princess, Celestia, stood at the balcony of one of the towers, her gaze directed at the village she had just left. Her thoughts were entirely on the unexpected visitors she had left in the care of Twilight and her friends. She couldn't help but wonder what was going through their heads, faced with a world unfamiliar to them, and in such unfamiliar bodies.

_But with any luck, they shouldn't need to worry for long. They should be able to return home…_ she thought to herself, _Provided that he's able to send them back._

She gazed out towards Ponyville for a few moments longer, before she closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh which came sort of close to a scoff.

"I would much appreciate it if we could skip your surprise appearance…" she mused, seemingly to herself more than anypony else, but Princess Celestia was not alone. Behind her, a large painting began to move and twitch, like something was inside of it. And indeed something was—it was beginning to remove itself from the canvas close to the bottom of the painting. It revealed itself slowly, sounding like a slice of cheese being peeled off of a piece of plastic.

The first thing to come out of the painting was a pair of black dress shoes, closely followed by brown dress pants. Next was a torso, covered by a yellow long sleeved collared shirt which was left untucked. The hands of the creature could not be seen, tucked away in the pockets of the pants. Finally, the head came out, the flesh gray and aged—a small white beard off the tip of the chin, and his eyebrows matched the beard. His hair was also white, but only towards the front while the rest was black, running down to the back of his head. Coming out from the top of his head were two horns, one ram horn, one elk horn.

It was Discord himself, spirit of chaos, and up until recently, malignant. Now, however, he seemed to be changing his ways for the better.

"Sorry, but as they say, 'old habits are hard to let go of'," he said, taking one last step forward and popping completely out of the painting. On his back were two wings: one blue pegasus wing, one purple bat wing. "Well, as requested, I have arrived."

He bowed, spreading his arms slightly. The bow was only halfway done, though.

"Thank you," Celestia said. To say that there was no reason to be concerned Discord was free wasn't exactly true, but to say that he had stayed true to his word so far was true—he hadn't done anything that could be considered him relapsing into his old ways, at least, not yet, "Now that you are here, I wish to speak to you—"

"About the temporal distortion from earlier?"

Celestia paused, raising a brow, "You already knew?"

The spirit of chaos only chuckled, "Well of course…"

One snap of the fingers later, Discord vanished, appearing a second later next to the solar princess, leaning against the railing of the balcony.

"I can pick up any form of imbalance that could transpire around us—I'd have to be a fool to allow something like that to slip by me unnoticed. That said, I still don't know what exactly came through, so would you mind filling in the blanks?"

"Two beings from another world, one whose inhabitants are referred to as 'humans'," Celestia summarized.

"Humans, eh?" questioned Discord, for the first time showing what could have been interest, "Tell me, what do they look like?"

"Their appearances had changed the moment they entered our world," Celestia continued, "One is now a unicorn, the other changed into a dragon…early adult stage, to be precise."

Discord chuckled again, "Was that the dragon I've heard of recently, the one who attacked the town?"

"The _attack_ was merely a misunderstanding. Once he was finally confronted, it was confirmed he was no threat. Now he and his friend are with Twilight awaiting for my return, which brings me to why I have called you," Celestia finally turned to face Discord directly, "Your magic allows you to bend the reality around you to your will. So, would it also allow you to open a portal back to where they have come from?"

Discord placed one hand to his chin, seemingly going into deep thought after Celestia made her request. His moment of pause wasn't for long, however. He put his hand back down upon railing, and gave his answer.

"Yes?"

A slight smile began to spread across the solar princess's lips.

_Well, that was easier than—_

"And no." Discord added a contradiction to his answer.

"What do you mean?" Celestia's smile faded as she asked why Discord's answer was as it was.

"The distortion that occurred closed as quickly as it opened, leaving no trace behind. By extension, it left no trace to its source," Discord raised one hand, extending the index finger, using his magic to form a small white orb.

"As you know, with each universe that exists, there are an infinite number more," The orb moved forward slowly, as more orbs seemed to come out of it, filling not only the outside but the inside room as well, "And with each world, there is a difference from the other."

The orbs began to change, some changing colors, others changing shape, and still different ones changing size.

"Trying to search each of them individually would take far too long. Even if we had them narrow the list down to universes with humans, that would still leave far too many to search." Discord closed his hands, causing all the orbs to change back and come together into one single orb, "Sorry to say, but without a way to trace them back to their original world…_they'll never return home…_"

Princess Celestia frowned.

"You know, you shouldn't scowl like that…" Discord said in a mocking tone, "They say it causes wrinkles…"

The solar princess's attention was elsewhere, however.

_So even Discord is unable to pinpoint alternate worlds…I had hoped I could tell them good news about the prospects of their safe return home, but…it looks like I'm going to have to be the bearer of bad news…_

* * *

Some time had passed at the library. Rarity and Spike had returned, the former ready to construct what was now taking shape as a sort of coat for John. John, meanwhile, had to do his best manikin impression so that she could go to work. Corey stood off to the side, eyes half-closed, looking towards the ground. Twilight was currently looking over the notes from earlier, waiting for Rarity to finish. Rainbow, meanwhile, leaned against the wall, looking half-asleep.

_Why do I have to close my eyes, again?_ John wondered to himself, standing precisely still. He couldn't see anything through his closed eyes, and as such, was starting to get curious as to what exactly the unicorn mare was doing. Slowly he tried to open one eye, hoping that he could get a glimpse of—

"Uh-uh!" scolded Rarity, covering the eye John tried to open, "No peeking, you don't want to ruin the surprise, do you?"

John groaned a little, closing his eye again.

_Now, Rarity, I know you have talent here, but I've only ever seen you design dresses,_ the dragon thought as his vision once more resembled a wall of darkness—the inside of his eyelids,_ Honestly, I'm afraid I'm wearing something like one right now. Wish I could say this out loud…_

"And…" Rarity began, "Voila, it is done!" There was no mistaking the pride in her voice. John heard the sounds of something being moved—perhaps by magic? "Now open your eyes and see!"

_Well, here goes nothing…_ John thought to himself, taking a deep breath, not knowing exactly what was covering him. Slowly, his eyes opened, and after they saw his reflection in the mirror in front of him, his eyes went wide in surprise. _Whoa!_

John found himself rapidly taking back all the complaints he'd had just two seconds ago, taking in the sight of his reflection. Over his upper body was a dark blue hooded sweater. However, Rarity wasn't satisfied with just that; also on the design was a dragon's head over the left arm and torso in black, contrasting with the blue.

"Well, what do you think?"

_Writing my response…_ John paused, _won't be enough…_

The human-turned-dragon took a deep breath, directing all his attention to his throat, making sure the air was going to the right spot. He turned to Rarity.

"_Thank…you…_" John rasped. Rarity was a bit shocked.

"Oh, he spoke!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Yup," Rainbow cut in, "He said one word not too long before you got back…" She walked up to John, examining the new hoodie for a few seconds, before giving her own comment on John's new wardrobe: "Nice threads."

"I'm glad you all like it so much!" Rarity chirped, "I even made sure to include holes on the back for your wings."

John turned around to see two wings perfectly sticking out through the back of the sweater, from about where his shoulderblades were.

_Not bad…_ John thought to himself as he looked further at his wings, which were folded, _So…how do I use these things?_

He tried to focus on his wings, to see if he could feel the muscle on his back. One eye closed as he felt something twitch—faint, but still there. One moment later, his own wing snapped towards his nose, slapping him square in the face.

John blinked, not expecting the action to happen. Behind him, Rainbow broke out in a fit of laughter.

* * *

All the while, Corey could only watch in envy. Not because John had just gotten fitted, certainly not because John played the role of manikin, but because of a much simpler fact. He lost control of separating his thoughts from voice once again.

"How can he be so calm…"

"What do you mean?"

Corey straightened up in posture. _Did I say that out loud…_

He looked over, seeing Twilight—of course, she was close enough to hear him.

"There's a very good chance we might never be able to go home…" Corey stated, slowly moving his left hand to his forehead—minding the horn he was very aware was there this time—before resting it there, "How come I'm the only one who's a nervous wreck…"

"Everypony copes differently, I suppose," Twilight said in a reassuring tone, putting one hand on Corey's shoulder, "But try and stay positive, I'm sure that Princess Celestia will return soon with good news…"

Corey turned his head to look at the purple alicorn, who was looking upon him with such a sweet, reassuring smile that he couldn't help but feel compelled to relax.

At least, until a flash of light filled his vision—made worse by his glasses. Corey blinked, seeing the solar princess herself.

_She's back…Hope it's good…_

All heads turned to Princess Celestia. Corey couldn't see her facial expression straight away. John didn't quite get a good look either. She seemed to be dodging meeting their eyes directly for a time, her head hung. However, she seemed to quickly gather herself, looking up to address them—and the whole room.

"I am sorry, but your stay may be longer than you expected…" Her voice was sympathetic, but Corey just felt pathetic upon realizing what it was she was trying to tell him. The despair that had been eating at him ever since he realized what the code had done finally got past what little optimism he had left towards his and John's situation.

_Well, this is just perfect…we're stuck in Equestria with no way back home…due to some code I decided to run…_

The thought in Corey's head that echoed most of all was:

_It's all my fault…_

* * *

**_And that's that. How will things proceed from here? Find out next time._**


	7. Act 1 Chapter 6

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 6: Glint in the Darkness**

* * *

This entire situation was abnormal. Not one thing about the situation at hand was like it was back home. Back home, John was someone that rarely, if ever, allowed something to get to him. He always found a way to shrug off something negative. But this time, it wasn't meant to be. It wasn't something he could move past.

It hadn't been too long since Princess Celestia teleported to the library for the second time that day to deliver some news. At first, the humans were full of hope. Those hopes were dashed as soon as she spoke.

_We're really stuck here… _John thought to himself, _We're stuck here for the rest of our lives…but all things considered, I should be taking it harder than Corey…soon as he heard, he started hyperventilating…and passed out. _

John was in the next room over, glancing back to the room where Corey had been left to recover. However, he soon turned his gaze to the nearest window. He could see signs that the town had recovered from the shock of the earlier "attack" they'd suffered through. It was like nothing had ever happened.

_I can still see their horrified faces…_ John remembered vividly the events immediately after his arrival, _They took a look at me and assumed I'd be trouble…I still don't know how I'm the one still standing after hearing that horrible news. _He could see his reflection in the window now, his eyes focusing on that, and his face bunched up in frustration at the now draconic face that stared back at him.

_At least Corey's able to blend in as a unicorn. No one would give him a second glance. But me…I became a dragon…_ John released a small sigh, white smoke coming out as he lowered his head. He reached over his shoulder with his clawed hand, pulling his hood over his head. _Guess I should get used to hiding my face…_

At that point, John figured he'd just enjoy the relative silence, at least until Corey came to. However…

"So this is where you snuck off to?"

In response to the voice, John raised his head, looking over his shoulder. Standing in the doorway with her arms crossed was Rainbow Dash, staring at him with an arched brow. John stared back at her for a few moments, before he dropped his eyes.

"Yeah…" he rasped, turning his head back towards the window, still only able to speak in monosyllables.

"I take it you're kinda bummed, huh?" Rainbow asked him. John could hear her footsteps approaching him, but didn't respond vocally.

_And your first clue was…?_ John responded to her question, though he didn't really say it.

"Yeah, I guess I can get how that could be a downer…" Rainbow continued, leaning her back on the window frame.

John didn't answer, not that he could.

"What, not gonna answer?" questioned Rainbow, noticing his total silence, "Fine by me," She shrugged, before giving him a small grin, "I'll just keep talking…"

Now John made a noise—a small groan.

_She could go on for hours about herself. It wouldn't make me feel too much better…_

"So let's see, you've been sent to another world, and just found you're pretty much stuck there," Rainbow summarized, "But look on the bright side!"

_I've been trying to… _

"Now you get to be a dragon!" Rainbow cut in, "You've got to admit that's pretty awesome!"

John paused, realizing something was off about her comment, _That doesn't sound like—_

"Not as awesome as being me, but close enough," Rainbow finished.

_And there it is…_ Yet, even as he thought that, John couldn't resist letting out a small chuckle.

"Praise Celestia, he makes a sound!" Rainbow called out, raising her hands sarcastically, "So now that you feel like saying something, maybe you'd like to say what's really bugging you."

John turned his head away from the window to look at her, his best surprised expression plastered on his face.

"What, you think nopony noticed?" she asked him, "You were pretty much shrugging off the fact that you were in another world. Now, all of a sudden, you're all depressed. So what's the deal?"

John looked away from Rainbow for a moment, looking back at his reflection in the window, and the town outside. He closed his eyes, bowing his head and choking out his answer.

"Fear…"

A few moments passed as Rainbow took in what he was saying. Eventually though, John heard the sounds of a raspberry filling his ears, blown by Rainbow.

"Are you still thinking about that? It was an accident! Once the town knows it, I'm pretty sure they'll let it go," Rainbow responded, blowing past the incident.

John could only turn to her with a skeptical look. Rainbow rolled her eyes and went on.

"Here's an example: remember Spike, the other dragon?" she asked him.

John nodded.

"Well, long story short, he turned into a giant greedy dragon at one point—wasn't long ago, really—and pretty much terrorized the whole town. But by the end of the day he went back to normal and the town forgave him. And do you know why?"

_Must have missed that one…_ John thought to himself, not knowing the answer offhand. So, he merely shrugged and awaited her answer.

"Because it was an _accident_," she said, "See where I'm going with this?"

_Okay, I misjudged. She's actually able to comfort me…Didn't think she could be that deep…_

"Forgive…and…forget," John managed, pressing his hand to his throat at least once to make sure that he was saying the right thing.

"Bingo!" Rainbow said, reaching for John's hood, "So give it some time, I'm sure once we tell them that you're cool, they'll move on."

As she removed John's hood, she continued, "And if they got a problem with that, I'll give them a reason to be afraid!"

Rainbow punched the palm of her hand, a loud smack, resulting in John chuckling.

_Her approach may have been the bluntest…_ John noted, _But it worked somehow…_

The dragon cast one final glance outside, reflecting on what had just happened.

_It's still not easy. I'll never see anyone I knew back home again, I'll never see my home again…But now, I'm starting to wonder if it's really as bad as I think it's going to be…_

* * *

"_Hey, I think he's waking up!"_

The voice echoed in his ears. Corey let out a small groan. Thoughts began to go through his mind, one at a time…

_What happened…? Head…hurts…can't see…_

He felt his eye muscles twitch and realized that his eyelids were shut, so obviously he wouldn't be able to see.

_I feel like I just threw my head into a boulder or something…_ Corey thought, gritting his teeth and applying one hand to his face—his glasses were still there, they didn't feel damaged. So was that horn on his forehead. Yet, when he forced his eyes open…

_Can't see…_

At first, everything around him blurred together; he couldn't see a single thing, but eventually, the image began to focus: first, he was able to identify a large purple blob right in front of him. However, his eyes managed to focus quickly, allowing him to make out exactly who it was.

"T-Twilight…?" His voice sounded raspy, even groaning at a low volume.

"Oh good," she gave a smile of relief, "You're awake!"

Corey tried to get up, but immediately his head seemed to hurt a lot worse. It nearly forced him flat on his back again. However, pressing his hand harder to his face, he managed to pull himself up into a sitting position.

"What…happened…?" He asked the first question that came to his mind.

"You went bonkers and passed out is what happened!" Corey turned his head—it had been Rainbow Dash who said that. He took a brief moment to look around—it seemed like everypony was there.

"Blunt…" Including the still near-mute John, summing up Rainbow's explanation neatly. Rainbow turned, sticking her tongue out at him. Twilight gave her a glare, but quickly returned her attention back to him.

"What Rainbow means is…" She hesitated. However, she looked into his eyes, nodded to herself, and continued on, "After…after Princess Celestia returned, you were given some pretty bad news…"

Corey blinked, but eventually, the memories began to return as Twilight continued on.

"After that, you started to hyperventilate, saying some things we couldn't understand. We tried to calm you down, but…before we could, you lost consciousness…and hit your head on the floor. You've been out for two hours…"

"_I am sorry, but your stay may be longer than you expected…"_ Corey remembered the disappointment in her words, in her face, _What…what do I do now…_

His head lowered as it sunk in all over again, his right hand pressing to his face, under the glasses this time. There was nothing he could do now to hide what he was feeling, his hand shaking—no, his whole body began to tremor, and his breathing rate began to spike.

_I…I'm…I'm alone…There's nothing left for me here…I'm…all alone…_

* * *

"Easy, Corey," Twilight tried to say something to him, but Corey wasn't listening at all now, "Just…just try to relax…It…It'll all be okay."

John knew full well what Twilight was trying to do, but he knew from prior experience it was no use.

_I can't say anything to him, either…I doubt he'd listen right now anyway. He wouldn't even stop to read it, I'd bet. Once he gets started…_

"No…" Corey sounded like he was deliberately trying to hold his emotions in, and he wasn't very good at it. "It won't…"

_You won't stop him…_ John thought.

"It won't…be okay…" Corey struggled to his feet, eyes not meeting anyone's, "It…it'll never be okay…"

"Corey—" Twilight tried to stop him, but Corey was as far from being in a listening mood as John feared he was. Without warning, Corey bolted…towards the door of the library. Twilight followed him, worried.

"Corey, wait," Twilight called out to him. Corey halted at the door, his shoulders slumped, "You can't just run off!"

Without any warning at all, Corey turned around. John immediately knew what his expression was despite the fact it was his first time really seeing it.

It was Corey's angry face.

"Leave me alone!" His voice broke just a little as his anger blew up…at Twilight, causing her to take a small step back. Corey paused, looking at her. John could see it very well in his face.

He looked completely horrified. Corey looked down, but he couldn't even muster an apology, turning tail and running with no more than a grunt, heading into town.

_Of all the—I've gotta…!_

John immediately moved to go after him, but somepony immediately put herself in his way.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold it, big guy!" Rainbow interrupted, being that pony, "You run out there now, and we might have a repeat of earlier, and I don't think you want that."

John paused. It was night now, but there were probably still ponies out. If he ran out, they'd see him.

"Well, we can't just leave him alone in the state he is in," Rarity said, looking towards the door, "The poor dear was so distraught, there was no way he could think straight…"

"I know…" Twilight said, walking up to the door, "I'm going to find him…and see if I can try to calm him down again…"

Before long, Twilight had vanished from John's sight as well, out looking for him.

"And she just leaves us alone…" Rainbow groaned, sitting down, "Now what do we do?"

John kept looking towards the door that Corey had bolted through.

_I can't help him…not this time, no matter how much I want to. Not like this,_ John thought to himself, a little afraid to breathe right now lest the incident from earlier repeat itself, _I have to trust Twilight to do this…but until then…_

John sat down on the floor, focusing entirely on where his vocal cords were. He uttered a sentence: two simple words.

"We…wait…"

* * *

He ran as far as his legs could take him—surprisingly far, considering it was the first time in a long while he'd actually done any strenuous running. But that didn't even register with Corey right now. He sat on a bench in the town square, slumped over, holding his glasses in one hand. Drops—tears, were dripping off of his hung head. Yet, Corey made no sound. His body, however, wasn't still. He was still trembling, his other hand pressed firmly to his face.

_Damn it all…_ Corey thought, _I've really done it this time…why is this happening? Why was that code there? Why did it do this? Why did I take the time to compile together a mysterious code? Now I'm stranded in a world where that skill is meaningless, with just John…no family, no other friends…_

His shoulders shook as what happened over the past several minutes caught up with him.

_And to make it worse, I took out my anger on the wrong kind of people…_ He could still see her face when he'd snapped at her, _They have nothing to do with what happened. I feel horrible…I don't think I could face them right now, after all that._

Corey's slump seemed to get worse, and he took a deep, shaky breath.

_And at the rate I'm going, I'm going to have a lot of trouble here…_

Corey sat in silence. It was late, so nopony was around to see him. He was totally alone.

"Oh, there you are!"

Corey immediately stopped shaking, and swiped an arm over his face. However, he didn't dare put his glasses back on, at least, not yet.

_Did she come to find me…?_

"Corey," Even though he was looking down, away from her, he could see her legs as she stood off to his left. Corey turned his head away, trying not to let her see him like he was, nor able to look her in the eye after snapping at her.

"I…" She paused again, as though trying to think about what she was going to say next, "I can't imagine what must be going through your head right now…"

Corey shifted as she sat on the bench next to him—he could tell it was her without even needing to look. He continued to be silent. Twilight said nothing for a few moments, as though processing his lack of answers.

"Corey, please, just…"

A hand touched his shoulder. Corey turned his head, his eyes dodging Twilight entirely, looking off behind her and down. He knew his face probably had tear streaks on it—much more visible since his face was covered in fur now, and he knew she saw them—her hand had removed itself from his shoulder.

"Listen to me…" Twilight said, after an uneasy pause, trying to complete her thought, "I'm not going to pretend to know what you're feeling. You're in a world that's not like your own at all, surrounded by life you've probably never seen."

Corey closed his eyes.

"But you can't shut everypony out," Twilight continued, "It won't help…"

"I…" Corey started. His voice sounded unusually raspy—odd since he hadn't really sobbed aloud, "I…I know…I know…b-but…"

"But…?" Twilight asked.

"It's...I'll never go home again…" Corey responded, "I…I was going to school in computer-related stuff…and then…this happened…"

Twilight paused, "You were…?"

"I-it doesn't matter now, anyway," Corey once again dodged Twilight's gaze, returning to looking down towards his feet, "I'm not going to be able to go home…"

There was a short pause between them. Corey awkwardly tapped on the bench with his left hand.

"I…I…" Corey stuttered, "I'm sorry…that—that I snapped…"

"D-don't worry about it…" Twilight said, sounding surprised. "From what you told me, I can't say I can blame you for snapping like you did."

Another awkward pause ensued. Corey felt like he needed to say something else, but he wasn't sure what he should say.

_I…I don't think I could…ask her to help me anymore than she—_

Corey's thoughts were cut short by a simple command.

"Corey, look at me."

Corey tried his best, finally putting his glasses back on as he did, but he couldn't look her in the eyes.

"I know that you've been through a lot, just today…" Twilight said, blowing past the fact he wasn't looking right at her, "I know…that you're probably hurting a lot, right now…"

She paused again.

"But…since you're going to be here for…" Twilight stopped, seeming to think about her next words, "Longer than you thought…"

Corey sighed, speaking his words just a little too quickly, "It's fine. I already know that much…"

"Why not…" Twilight continued, as though Corey hadn't spoken up, "Why not learn to live like a unicorn?"

For the first time since she had found him, Corey looked at Twilight—looking up so that he could see most of her face. He still didn't have the heart to look her directly in the eyes.

"I…" Corey started, "But…I…"

"I'm not holding that against you," Twilight repeated, "You're obviously under a lot of stress. I may not know what it's like to be in a world that isn't your own…but…"

"Twilight…" Corey was at a complete loss for words.

"Now…" Twilight started, "Come on…" She stood up, holding out one hand to him, "Let's head back to the library."

Corey looked at her hand like it was some kind of alien tendril, "Uh…"

"I know you need some place to stay…" Twilight said, giving him a small smile, "You and John both. And I'll teach you how to be a unicorn…I'll teach you how to use your magic."

"I…I don't know if I can…" Corey responded, looking around uneasily.

Twilight continued to hold out her hand, "It can't hurt to try…"

Corey closed his eyes. It still hurt hard that he was likely to never return home again.

_And yet…this kindness she's giving me, even after I acted like a jerk…_ Corey thought to himself, _It's still…soothing, somehow…_

With that in mind, Corey finally came to a decision. He reached out for her hand, grasping it tightly, causing her to gasp. She helped him to his feet, smiling.

At last, Corey gave a small smile; awkward, yet sincere.

"Alright…I'll…I'll g-give it a shot…" Corey said.

* * *

_**And that's the last update from me until next Wednesday. Just wanted to get this first arc out of the way before anything else. As always, comment and criticize if you feel the need. And even if you don't. I want to hear what I can improve on.**_


	8. Act 1 Chapter 7

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 7: Some Adjustments**

* * *

_Equestria Log – Day 4_

_It's been two days since we've come to Equestria. Two whole days since I found out we'd never be going home. That situation hasn't changed, and it doesn't look like it'd change. This world is far less technologically advanced than home…it's been rough adapting to the sudden change, picking up the pieces. I don't know how John hasn't breathed anything more than smoke by now…_

_The ponies here are pretty nice, even if some seem a little less…"hinged", than others. The tour of the town went off well. At the very least, I know the local culture well enough from firsthand experience, I think. Haven't been hanging around at the library too much the past couple of days. That might change, though._

_I still can't believe I'm really stuck here until I die. I can't believe this happened when I ran that code. But, whatever the reason, I'm going to have to deal with it. Still… why could I see the message where John and the others couldn't? Why was it in Java of all things? What's this all about? Who knows, maybe the answers will come up soon enough. Maybe there __**is**__ a way home, and no pony knows it yet. Doesn't seem too likely, though. _

_In other news, I haven't started magic yet, believe it or not. Part of the reason I haven't been hanging around in the library is because Twilight's been busy trying to put together a lesson plan to get me started. I don't know why, but I'm honestly scared of what she's going to have me do…_

_John seems to be able to go out in town now without ponies panicking. It helps that he's beginning to learn how to speak more clearly without blowing smoke. Still, I don't think he's quite there yet…_

Corey sat at a desk, alone, upstairs in the library. In front of him was an open, nearly blank notebook of sorts. It hadn't been hard to adapt to using a quill instead of a pencil or keyboard to get his thoughts down. He just needed to remember to re-wet the end of the feather every couple of sentences.

_Of course, even being in a new body, even writing with a feather, my handwriting's still terrible…_ Corey thought, trying to finish his journal entry, a neutral expression on his face, _I could write down the whole "other side of the fourth wall" thing and nopony'd be able to read it…better safe than sorry, though._

He continued to write down, the sound of scribbling filling the room, along with Corey mumbling incoherently as he scrawled his own thoughts within the notebook.

_Today's the day Twilight's supposed to start teaching me. She was going to make sure she had something put together by now…._ Corey thought, _It's actually pretty early for me. Wonder what today's going to be all about…_

* * *

"Hey," This was Spike, walking into the room. Corey immediately finished the sentence he was on, shutting the journal afterward. "Twilight said she's ready to start…"

"Okay then," Corey said calmly, "Better not keep her waiting then…" He looked around the room.

"What're you…" Spike stepped forward a bit.

"Nothing, nothing," Corey responded, "Guess John's still out around the town…"

"He's been tryin' to give back ever since he scared everypony," Spike said, "Most ponies are lettin' him."

"Well then…" Corey stood up. As he began to walk towards him, Spike turned around, leading him, "So, you know anything about her lesson plans?"

"You should I know I happen to be her number one assistant," Spike said, "Of course I would know…"

Corey could have sworn he heard him start to snicker as he passed into the room—something that didn't make him feel too good about what was about to happen. He hesitated a bit, before just power-walking his way into the room.

What he saw next made him literally shiver. His eyes went wide. His mouth began to open. His body slumped over. He had no words. The giant pile in front of him was ridiculously huge. No—not pile. There were several stacks in front of him that were taller than most ponies.

Twilight came out from behind a few books, smiling to him, "Well, Corey, I see you're ready to start…"

She apparently didn't notice Corey's expression. Spike, however, did, judging from the fact he burst out laughing. Though already Corey was dialing down his reaction, trying not to let Twilight in on the fact he wasn't exactly studious as a student, he was already forming some snark.

He let it out, deep in the back of his skull.

_Twilight, I know you were preparing a course for me…_ Corey thought, _And I'm no stranger to required reading…_

His eye twitched, and he reached up to his face to adjust his glasses, which had gone askew during his rampant face-faulting.

_But __**this**__ is ridiculous!_

* * *

It was pretty early in the morning. The town still wasn't fully active at this point in time, just a few early birds going about their daily lives. The morning was more or less normal, save for one detail: a large crate was being moved through the city streets. That in itself wasn't abnormal, except for the fact there was no magical glow around the whole crate, no team of ponies moving it. Underneath the crate was a large black and blue dragon, hefting the huge thing over his shoulders like it was nothing.

_How'd I end up doing this again?_ John thought to himself. _Didn't plan on moving things around today. I was going for another walk when somepony decided to interrupt me._

A few steps ahead of him was a pony in a blue postal worker outfit—gray-furred, blonde mane and tail, slightly messy. The pony had a pair of wings poking their way out of the outfit. It was Derpy Hooves, who John remembered to be a meme in her own right.

_Right…She had a delivery to make, she couldn't lift it on her own and asked me for help…_ John remembered, glancing up to the heavy crate atop his shoulder. _And I said "yes"._

Everypony in town had been told John was no threat by this point. He was able to walk around town freely now without anypony starting a fuss. As a result, he'd taken up giving back to the community as a means to apologize for the panic he'd caused by accident—in case anypony wasn't convinced.

"Alright Mr. Dragon, we're here!" called out Derpy, stopping in front of a house, standing straight and tall with her arms stretched behind her back. John grunted slightly, moving the crate over and placing it on the ground gently. With the weight off his shoulders, John glanced to the front door of the house, and was able to read the name on it.

"_Derpy…Hooves"…?_ John's eye twitched as he read the plate, "Wait…this is your house?"

He still had to focus to speak, but it was becoming more natural now—he'd had to learn to talk quick with his community service stuff.

"Well, duh," Derpy turned to him, "This is my delivery…"

"You deliver…your own mail?" John asked, not knowing what else to say offhand.

"Yeah, this way I'll know it'll be delivered on time!" Derpy chirped, turning to the crate.

John tried to formulate a response, but no words would come out. All he could do was force air in and out of his lungs. However, he eventually came to a conclusion, straightening his posture and closing his mouth.

_Pretty clever…_ John thought to himself. Now he had a different question then.

"So what's in the crate?" John asked, pointing to the crate.

"Month's supply of muffins!" Derpy said once again.

John gave a mild chuckle, _Of course…_

A short time later, John was on his way through Ponyville, as he had been before the unexpected interruption. Derpy apparently didn't need his help from that point onward, so John merely said his goodbyes and left her to her business.

_What else is there to do…?_ John thought to himself, slowly looking around. _I could just walk out of town again…_

He paused, sighing—thankfully not producing flames this time.

_Back home, I wouldn't be outside so much…_ John pondered, pretty much alone at this point in time. _Unless I was with friends, I'd just be content to stay at home. But now that I'm here, it's the total opposite…who knows, maybe it's the dragon in me. They usually go out into the wildnerness—except Spike, who was raised from birth by ponies. Guess it really doesn't matter. Gives me something to do._

With that, John decided to continue his walk, wondering exactly what he'd do with his new life today.

* * *

_Magic…willpower…possible to do many things with the proper application…stored someplace close to the heart…friendship…love…_

Corey had to give Twilight credit on something: when it came to things like this, she was completely thorough. Unfortunately, she was a bit too thorough. It had barely been even an hour since he started and he had already been asked to read through three books. While Corey was a professional skimmer by trade, this was utterly ridiculous.

The books were thicker than his calculus books, and he had to find who-knows-how-much information about the concept of magic. If he had a chance to go back to Earth and tell people exactly how wrong their headcanons were, he would…provided his brain could handle all the sudden influx of information.

_Magic…emotions…power can corrupt…_

* * *

Spike couldn't properly contain himself. It was a bit too much to ignore. At first, Corey tried to deal with the workload Twilight had left him. He tried as hard as he could.

Then he marathoned his way through at least two books trying to find relevant information. He didn't read them—he'd lived with Twilight long enough to know when a pony was actually reading something versus skimming it, and that colt—human—pony guy was definitely skimming. And even skimming these books was doing a real number on him. He was slowing down, his eyes wide, beads of sweat dripping down his face. He wasn't even mumbling to himself anymore, just trying to hold it together.

However, it wasn't to last. Corey finally gave in, banging his head on the table in frustration.

At this, Spike finally burst out laughing. However, it wasn't long before somepony stepped in.

"Spike!" At this, his laughing fit came to a stop. He turned, seeing Twilight staring back at him, hands on sides, and her foot tapping steadily on the ground.

"I'd appreciate it if you kept it down, Corey's trying to study!" Twilight scolded.

"Emphasis on _trying_…" Spike responded, starting to giggle again.

"Did I not give you enough chores to do?" Twilight arched one brow. Spike took the hint, taking his leave to attend to those chores. Once he was out of earshot, Twilight turned into the room where Corey was studying. She walked in with a smile on her face.

"Who's ready for a pop quiz?" Twilight asked, barely able to contain her excitement, holding up the quiz next to her with her magic.

"Eh?" Corey asked, raising his head from the table, "P-pop quiz? But…" He looked over to the clock on the wall, "It's only been two hours…"

"I know!" Twilight responded, completely oblivious to Corey's slight breakdown—which was still underway, had she noticed his twitchy eye, "Time sure does fly, doesn't it?"

Using her magic, Twilight moved away all of the books near Corey.

"This should be an easy one…"

* * *

Being a college student, Corey was no stranger to the concept of pop quizzes. He was no stranger to the concept of _quizzes_. However, as the quiz made impact with the desk, Corey realized her expectations may have been a bit much.

_Twilight, the name "quiz" generally implies it's not that long… This thing is ten pages…front and back…_

It took all of his reserves to not headdesk on realizing what was going on.

"And I'll let you use your notes for it." Twilight continued to give her instructions. Corey glanced to what notes he did prepare.

_All one page of them?_ Corey thought to himself, _Two hours wasn't enough time for this kind of thing…_

Corey looked to the quiz, and barely noticed when Twilight set a kitchen timer on the table, a glow still around it.

"You have one hour," The glow vanished, and the timer began to tick, "Good luck!"

Twilight made a quick exit of the room. Corey continued to stare at the quiz, totally unsure of what to do. There were so many questions to this, and he was sure in his mad skimming he didn't remember even half of what these were.

Corey removed his glasses, holding them in his left hand. He could only let his head fall to the desk again with a loud "thump".

_I suddenly don't want to be a unicorn anymore…_

* * *

There was something fishy going on, and Twilight knew it. She stared blankly at the pop quiz. Each page, each question—it all seemed impossible, even for someone like him.

"He didn't answer a single question…" Twilight muttered, unable to process the information.

"Shocking," Spike said under his voice, shelving a couple of books.

"I don't get it," Twilight said, having not paid Spike's comment any mind, "I gave him all the information and time he'd need…"

"Don't you mean 'you'd' need?" Spike asked, walking past Twilight with a cart of books in his hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Twilight asked, placing the quiz down and turning her head towards Spike. Spike took a couple steps more on his course before he stopped.

"Well, every time you study, you close yourself off in your rooms with a ton of books for a couple of hours and cram all of them."

"Well yeah," Twilight admitted, "What's wrong with that?"

"Ever think that not everyone can study the way you do?" Spike asked, leaning on the cart. The cart began to move, and thus he turned to grab it before it went flying out of his personal space.

"I'm sure they could if they tried." Twilight said honestly.

"Sure they could…" Spike snarked, going back to his chores.

With all that over, Twilight returned her attention to Corey's blank quiz. She soon began to come to a conclusion.

"I know!" Twilight said, "Maybe he wasn't sure of which books to read!"

She stood up, making her way to the next room, "If I number them in order, he'll know which books to read and when! That should help!"

However, as she walked towards where she had left Corey, thinking about what Spike had said.

"Spike's just being negative…I'm sure everypony can do it if they put their minds to it…" she thought aloud to herself, "He'll see. Once I sort things out with Corey, he'll be just like I was."

It wasn't long before, hearing herself, she stopped in her tracks.

"Just like…I was…" With that, Twilight quit thinking aloud, remembering details of her own foalhood.

_That's right…Back when I was learning, I was already ahead of the curve. It didn't take me long to move up to the advanced courses. I wasn't in classes with unicorns that were my own age. I studied so hard even the teachers couldn't keep up with me. All this did was just give me more to study…and I loved to study…I still do._

She reached the door of the room where she'd left Corey to do more work. Now, she noticed exactly how stressed he was with the workload she'd so unceremoniously saddled him with. One hand was trying to scribble out notes, the other hand running through his mane. He hadn't even noticed that she was there. She took a second look at the curriculum she'd arranged to give him.

_This is basically what I read in a weekend. I've read all those books myself, some of them twice. That's why I gave them to him…_ A hand went to her chin, _But nopony in this town that I'm aware would gladly read so much. And Corey's not even really a __**pony**__ to start with. _

Her hand moved over her face now, as she sighed.

_That's just completely unfair. I shouldn't have done that to him…_

* * *

Corey's focus was entirely on the books in front of him. He hated disappointing people, and right now that was exactly what he'd felt he'd done. He was trying to make the most of what he had to work with. However, he noticed a familiar color glow surrounding him, and the books surrounding him began to move.

Corey's surprise was compounded when he'd realized Twilight was standing in the room with him.

"You know," Twilight started, beginning to shelve the books one by one in their rightful places, "When I agreed to teach you magic, I was _excited_ about the idea. I was going from former student to new teacher with her own student. I couldn't wait to share what I knew with you."

By now, the last of the books hit the shelves.

"But when I think about it, not even my own teacher did that. And, she's an immortal goddess. You can only imagine how much she must know." She laughed just a little. Corey would have said something, but he couldn't even find his words.

"I guess she realized what I'm realizing now. I can't just ask you to read something and leave you to your own devices. While that may work for me, to ask you to do the same was unfair, and I'm sorry for that." As she continued to talk, Twilight pulled over a chair with her magic and sat down in it, sitting across from him.

Corey looked around self-consciously, unable to say anything.

_I should have expected as much…_ he thought to himself, _So why am I so shocked she changed her method up?_

"I said I'd teach you how to use magic. That's what we'll focus on for now…if you're up for it, that is," Twilight finished.

Corey blinked, realizing he needed to say something. He set the quill in his notebook and moved it said before turning to face Twilight—though once again his eyes dodged hers.

"I'm listening…"

"Okay, but before you can use magic, you need to understand just what it is. So, are you ready?" Twilight asked.

Corey could only nod.

"Alright, so…Lesson One: What is magic?"

* * *

There was a pond not too far outside of Ponyville. A small rock had just been thrown in it, displacing the water just a bit. The rock was followed by several smaller bretheren. Eventually, the rocks paused for a moment.

A few seconds later, a large rock—the size of two grapefruits—crashed into the water with a loud splash.

On the far side of the water, John stood, having thrown the rock into the water. He was slightly annoyed.

_How do people skip rocks…_ John thought to himself. _I've been trying for a while now and not even a single skip._

"It's all in the wrist," said a familiar voice, from directly above. John looked, seeing Rainbow Dash slowly descending from the sky above. She touched down, taking hold of a nearby rock and threw it towards the pond. The rock skipped five times across the surface of the water before sinking to the water, joining John's many failed attempts from earlier. John turned his head towards Rainbow, who was polishing her nails on her chest.

"Show-off…" John grumbled flatly.

"Yeah, I know, I'm awesome," Rainbow said, completely ignoring what John was saying. John knew enough to know she did it on purpose.

"How'd you know I was here?" John asked, "Never tell anyone where I'm going…half the time I don't even know where I'll end up."

"I saw you leave town this morning," Rainbow responded, "Figured I'd tail you and see what you'd do."

John regarded her with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Don't judge me…" Rainbow crossed her arms, "But now that I see that you aren't up to anything too important, there's something I want to do with you."

Rainbow flapped her wings, beginning to hover off the ground.

"Do what now?" John asked.

"I'll tell ya when we get there," Rainbow said, "Just follow me for now."

She began to fly in one direction, mere feet from the ground.

"Can I…get a—" John couldn't even finish his question before Rainbow gave her answer.

"Nope!" Rainbow called out, not even looking back. The dragon followed her for a few seconds before letting out a small sigh.

_I have a feeling this won't end well for me…_ thought John to himself, following her.

* * *

_**Gonna shoot for Sunday updates from here on. Drop a review if you've made it this far.**_


	9. Act 1 Chapter 8

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 8: Lesson One**

* * *

It wasn't long before Twilight had reorganized her teaching strategy. Corey had to sit tight for just a bit. The stacks of books had long since vanished. In their place was but a single book, which Twilight held herself for the time being. After she'd flipped through the book, nodding every now and then as her magic swept through the pages, she turned her full attention to Corey, sitting across from him as before.

"Before you start using your magic, you need to understand the force that you're using," Twilight said, "With that in mind, I want to know something: what comes to mind when I say the word 'magic'?"

"Well, um…spells?" Corey responded, going with the most basic thing he could think of—it wasn't exactly hard to do.

"Yes, that's right," Twilight said, "But that's not the only use magic has. Unicorns can cast spells, but they're not the only ones who can use it. Pegasus ponies and earth ponies also have their own magic unique to them."

"Really?" Corey asked. Internally, however, he added, _Act like you don't know at least that much already…_

"Absolutely. The weather, for example, in every single town or city in Equestria is kept in check by the pegasi. With their own unique magic, they are able to manipulate clouds and regulate the weather. Their magic also grants them the ability to stand on clouds as if it were solid ground.

"As for earth ponies, their unique magic grants them a connection with the ground beneath them, one that unicorns and pegasi can't match with their natural abilities. They have the greenest thumbs of the three types. Also, most earth ponies are physically stronger than the other two pony races." Twilight explained.

"I see," Corey said, nodding, "So magic is a big part of life here…"

"Exactly," Twilight continued, "Earth, pegasi, unicorns, and several other species on this planet have some form of magic inside of them. Each of us are able to channel the magic that is inside of us in our own ways…"

Corey trailed off, but it wasn't because he was bored—far from it. What Twilight had just told him seemed oddly familiar.

_Don't say a word about Ki, don't say a word about Ki, don't say a word about—_

"So it's like Ki?" Corey asked, immediately horrified at the question he'd unleashed.

_Dammit!_

What horror he felt at asking the question faded as soon as he noticed Twilight's smile.

"That's exactly it!" she said, clasping her hands together, "I didn't know people in your world used Ki…"

"O-oh no," Corey responded, "T-that isn't right. It's just a concept that's…very well known in our world."

_And Changelings are really space aliens who change their form to suppress their true power…_

"Many people believe that with proper training, we can tap into the Ki inside of us and be capable of amazing things." Corey finished his explanation, trying very hard to not launch into full nerd mode.

"Is it true?" Twilight tilted her head.

"To date, there hasn't been any concrete proof…" Corey said, "But…I'd like to believe it is."

"Well, I can't speak for your world, but here, that concept is very real," Twilight said, "And today, you're going to see it firsthand…"

* * *

"Are we there yet?" John asked, still following Rainbow. They'd long since left the pond, and Rainbow was still leading him through forests, seeming to follow a river leaving out of the pond.

"Almost," Rainbow said, still hovering ahead of John.

"Still not going…to tell me where…we're going?" John made sure to space out his words carefully.

"You'll find out when we get there," Rainbow didn't even turn to say something to him, "Just be patient."

_Of all ponies to tell someone else to be patient…_ John thought, _I can feel the irony in the air. Why is she being so secretive about where she wants to take me? Guess I'll just have to wait and see…_

At least ten minutes passed with John still following Rainbow before John finally noticed a real change in the geography. They were slowly moving uphill. In the distance, he was able to hear something—a roaring sound, a sound he was somewhat familiar with.

_Is that a waterfall?_ He asked to himself.

It wasn't long before Rainbow finally stopped. John finally could see where she wanted to take him. He now stood at the top of a very tall cliff. Towards the side, he could see the waterfall he'd heard. The water dropped straight down until it met the large lake at the bottom, from which a river washed, no doubt leading to that pond John had been at earlier.

If he knew how to whistle without breathing fire, John would have done so in amazement.

"So this is…what you wanted…to show me?" John asked.

"Well, yeah, but I really brought you here for another reason." Rainbow responded, finally turning to face him.

"And what's that?" John questioned, looking out over the vast expanse.

"So something came to me yesterday," Rainbow said, touching the ground for the first time with two feet, "You're a dragon." Rainbow poked him in the chest. John regarded Rainbow with a confused expression.

"Yes…" John then raised his hand, pointing to the nearest tree, "And that's a tree."

"Okay, smart-ass," Rainbow put her hands to her hips, "I'll get to the point. You see, I am, hands down, the greatest and fastest flier in Equestria, no doubt about it!"

_And there's the speech about how awesome she is,_ John said, _I was wondering when she'd give me one…_

"I won the best young fliers' competition, mastered the Sonic Rainboom—" John didn't even respond, "—Long story, I'll tell you some other day. And on top of all that, I'm the top flier at the Wonderbolts Academy, which is a big deal for pegasus ponies.

"Clearly, I'm the best, but sometimes I like to prove to everypony else that I am. And I don't see any better way than to beat a dragon at a flying competition, so that's where you come in…" Rainbow finally got to the point, and John had to comment.

"But I don't know—" John tried to protest, but Rainbow quickly cut him off.

"You don't know how to fly, _yet_!" Rainbow said, "But you will soon, because I'm gonna teach you!" She pointed her thumb back to herself, "And when you finally meet my standards, we'll have a race to see who's fastest!"

At this, John finally turned his gaze back down the waterfall, and he thought over what Rainbow had proposed to him.

_I wonder what it would feel like to fly…_ John thought, _I mean, really fly, under my own power. No planes, no helicopters, no machinery, just me and the open air. I know I'm not the only one who's wondered this before. But back home, this would never happen. But now I have a chance at it, and Rainbow Dash is offering to help me. What do I have to lose?_

"Sounds like fun, how do we start?" John asked, turning to face Rainbow directly, "Where do we start?"

Rainbow walked up to John, placing a palm on his shoulder, turning him around.

"I had a hard time figuring that one out. You're not a pegasus, so chances are I can't teach you like one. So, I took a trip to the library and checked out a book on how some animals in the wild teach their young," Rainbow began to explain.

If John had hair, it'd be starting to stand on end right now.

"In the end, I chose the style mommy birds use to teach their chicks." Rainbow summarized.

_Well, that doesn't sound—oh wait, mommy birds teach their chicks by…_ John realized precisely what was about to happen, but before he could even make the appropriate response, the ground under him disappeared, and he was now pushed over the cliff.

Gravity asserted itself almost immediately after John realized there was no ground under him, and he began to plummet towards the pond.

"Start flapping!" Rainbow shouted down after him.

Even though he was falling down towards the water below—something that by all rights could be fatal, John found it in him to apply the palm of his left hand to his face.

_Just start flapping…_ John thought as time began to slow around him for a time, _Use muscles I wasn't even aware existed…_

John tried to use his wing muscles, but as expected, the most his wings did was twitch violently in place. He couldn't even manage a single flap. He hit the water at full velocity, making a gigantic splash. It was a wonder he didn't splatter, but then again he wasn't a human anymore.

John resurfaced, seeing that Rainbow had slowly descended to where he was. She was a few feet above the water. He hoped she could see the anger he was feeling at this.

"I told you to flap," Rainbow scolded, her arms folded.

John's snout disappeared under the water, and he grumbled something incoherent.

"Well, you know what they say," Rainbow said, pointing up to the top of the cliff. "If you fall, get back on the cliff!"

John let out a groan, managing to get himself out of the water. It was going to be a long walk. Yet, as he began to make his ascent to try again, John's thoughts returned to Ponyville.

_Wonder if Corey's having any better luck with his lessons…_

* * *

"Now, to help you ease into magic use, the first spell you'll learn is one that all three tribes can do…" Twilight began. Corey was a bit stunned—a spell that all three tribes could use? When did this happen?

"Really?" Corey voiced his questions in the simplest manner possible.

"Yes, this is a spell that every pony learns at a young age," Twilight clarified.

"Sounds…" Corey said, "Simple enough."

"Great! Now…" Twilight gave what, to her, was a simple order, "Show me your cutie mark."

Corey's entire thought process was obliterated, overtaken by an extremely loud, internal scream of terror.

* * *

Back at the ledge, John looked down to the water below. Each of his scales and his pants were soaked with water from the pond. By now, he'd removed his sweater so it wouldn't have gotten totally ruined from the repeated impacts. It now hung on a branch of a nearby tree, dripping with lake water. He'd leapt off the cliff countless times, having been unable to come up with any better solution to his flightlessness. This time would add to the total.

_Here I go!_ John thought, leaping off the cliff like all the times before...except the first time. Just like all those times, he was falling at a great speed.

_You know, after doing this so much, I think I've gotten used to this…_ John thought to himself, _Alright…now, let's see if I can make my wings work this time…_

Every failed jump caused him to have to hike his way back up to where Rainbow Dash was waiting. During each walk, he'd tried to make the muscles in his wings work. Each time he made a little progress—now, if he really concentrated on his wings, he was able to make them open and close.

With the panic from falling no longer present, John found it was easier to focus on the muscles controlling his wings. And, with a single, concentrated thought, John's wings sprang open, jerking his body backwards as they caught the wind around him. John smiled, satisfied with the first big step he'd made.

_At the very least I can now cushion the fall…_

"Look out!" Rainbow shouted, causing John to do a double-take. He looked down for the first time, realizing the pond was gone, replaced with solid ground. John looked around, realizing a simple fact.

_I'm off course! _John thought as the panic began to return, _It must have happened when I opened my wings…_

John cast a quick look back, seeing Rainbow flying towards him, but there was no way she could make it in time. He hardly called himself a religious man, but the only thing he could think to do was to pray as he waited for the inevitable impact with the cold, hard ground.

* * *

_**And here's where we leave off for another week. Drop a review if you like what you've seen so far or whatever.**_


	10. Act 1 Chapter 9

**Act I: Collision of Worlds**

**Chapter 9: Something Else To Do**

* * *

"C'mon, c'mon, where are you?!" Rainbow grumbled to herself, panicking. It hadn't been long since John had started trying to learn to fly. Now, however, she feared the worst. Not long before she'd gotten below the tree line, Rainbow watched John fall towards the hard ground instead of the pond. She had taken off just a few seconds too late, hoping to save him. Instead, all she wound up doing was watch in horror as John's body disappeared below the trees, followed by the sound of a very hard impact with the cold ground.

Rainbow didn't even want to imagine what she'd see if she found John, but she couldn't stop the images from coming. And, in addition, she was having a hard time finding John. No matter where she looked, she couldn't find any sign of him, not even—

_How can there not be a body? They don't just disappear like that!_ Rainbow continued to search, her worry growing at every second's passing, _What if the crash buried him?_

She was currently breaking out into a Corey and/or Twilight-level panic now, surveying the ground as she landed on solid earth.

_There's so many rocks and holes around here…It'd take too long! What if he doesn't have that kind of time? What if…?!_

"Hey!" Rainbow cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting around the rocks, "If you can hear me, say something!"

There was no answer. For a few brief moments, Rainbow assumed the worst. However, something happened. The ground at her feet began to shift.

"Huh?" Rainbow asked, feeling it. She realized she wasn't really standing on solid ground, but a large boulder-sized piece of shale. One that was moving straight up, as if it were being lifted, "What the—"

She hopped off of the rock, taking a few steps back from in. After a few moments, whatever anxiety she had about the situation was lifted. Under the large rock, lifting it off the ground, was John, lifting it up off his back with little effort. After doing this, the dragon surveyed his own body, seemingly in total disbelief.

"I'm…alive…?" He hadn't even noticed she was right in front of him, looking at his own hands as though he'd just realized they were there, "How am I still alive?"

"You're seriously questioning that!?" Rainbow yelled, immediately getting John's attention, "You just fell like thirty feet to the ground and you don't even look hurt! Why are you questioning it?!"

John looked down—it was true, his body didn't seem to have even a single scratch on it from the fall.

"I don't feel hurt either…" John spoke up, loud and clear.

"I noticed," Rainbow said, the shock of the moment finally subsiding, "Just what are you made of anyway?"

John didn't answer straight away, lost in thought over his apparent survival—no, not even survival, the fact he no sold such a bad fall.

_That fall should have killed me…_ John thought to himself, _At least, it would have if I were human…you know what, don't question it, just be glad you're completely fine._

"Should I try again?" John asked.

"Hay, no!" Rainbow shouted, "I just about had a heart attack from all this. We're calling it a day. Tomorrow, I'm taking the fall with you so this doesn't happen again."

John found himself wondering how it felt watching his fall. However, he soon banished those thoughts.

"Well, for what it's worth…" John said, still making sure to pause so he could direct his air to the right spots—an act that got easier with each complete sentence he said, "It was a fun first day."

"That's 'cause you have an awesome teacher like me," Rainbow boasted, crossing her arms, "Class dismissed, I'll see you here tomorrow!"

With that, she turned, taking off full speed into the sky, leaving behind only a rainbow blur in her wake. John watched her leave until she was well out of sight before turning his gaze back to the top of the cliff, looking up at it for a few seconds. Eventually, he let out a defeated sigh.

"My sweater is still up there…" he groaned, beginning to take the long walk back up the cliff to retrieve it.

* * *

Finding his way back to town wasn't too difficult, though if John hadn't remembered the route Rainbow had taken him down earlier he would have gotten lost.

_Wouldn't that have been a highlight…?_ John thought on that one, before quickly dismissing it, _Ah, who am I kidding, nothing could top what happened today…wait until everyone hears about that one!_

The only thing he really felt at that point was the actual impact. No real pain, nothing shattering, just the sensation of colliding with another mass.

John passed through the Ponyville streets, which by now had become a lot more active than earlier. The town overall was sending him mixed messages. Some of the locals offered a friendly wave—the ones who had allowed him to help them over the past few days. Others tried to stay out of his path, not offering him much more than maybe a fearful look.

_Can't blame you guys—I'd probably react the same way if a dragon came out of nowhere…_ John thought.

There were the small few who were giving him openly unfriendly looks—the most disheartening of all, but John knew well enough acceptance could not be forced on a group.

_I've just got to hope that, through being myself, that the locals will grow to accept me with time…_ John pondered, _Something that I have plenty of…_

It wasn't long before John reached the library—the place he and Corey had stayed for the past couple of days. Once inside, he didn't have to look far to find his friend. He sat at a desk, book in one hand.

"Still learning?" John asked.

"No, class ended not too long ago…" Corey responded, "And I decided to read a book to fill the time…"

John took a look at the title of the book and raised a brow.

"_Of Parasprites and Stallions?"_ he thought, _So are all the novels here like this—pony versions of ours? I live here too. Might want to check on that at some point…_

For now, though, John decided to sit down next to Corey. He took notice of the apple that was on the desk.

_Doesn't the student give the teacher the apple?_ John thought to himself, swiping the apple while Corey's attention was on the book. Eventually, Corey reached for it, only to notice John was eating it.

The annoyed look was something John hadn't seen Corey really throw out in a while, and it was refreshing to see it make its triumphant return. However, it only lasted a couple of seconds. With a dismissive wave of the hand, Corey turned his nose back to the book.

"So," John bit down on the apple, "How'd your first lesson go?"

"I showed Twilight my cutie mark…" Corey said, about as casually as if he'd swatted a fly. That wouldn't have been so bad by itself, but the subject matter, coupled with his unnaturally light tone was what struck John.

John spat out the hunk of apple he'd been chewing in surprise—the bits of apple had been roasted, and as John continued to reel from what Corey had just revealed, John coughed up small clouds of gray smoke.

"What?" Corey asked, turning to him, obviously getting it straight away, "Oh…" He glanced to his book, nodded, and then closed it before turning to John.

"H-hold on, it's not as bad as you think it is…" Corey stuttered awkwardly—the way his face lit up as he did so did not help.

"You should have bought her dinner first…" John choked, willing himself to not breathe fire right now.

"It's not like that!" Corey said, "See, first she showed me hers…"

John shot Corey a look that rivaled the one he would often give his computer monitor back home.

"No, it's not—" Corey started, unable to keep focus anymore, his thoughts clearly going a mile a minute now, "I mean, she just—and then—you see…"

"Stop!" John's mouth expelled black smoke as he extended his clawed hand and slammed it over Corey's snout as the unicorn's voice became muffled. After taking a few breaths to try to get himself focused, John tried to speak up again.

"Alright…let's try this again…what happened…during your lesson?" John asked.

"W-well, the subject came up during my training," Corey responded, "You see..."

* * *

"_Sounds…" Corey said, "Simple enough."_

"_Great! Now…" Twilight gave what, to her, was a simple order, "Show me your cutie mark."_

_Corey's entire thought process was obliterated, overtaken by an extremely loud, internal scream of terror. His face barely matched what he was thinking, but it was enough for his teacher to see something was wrong._

"_What's…?" Twilight said, immediately before her face lit up in realization, "Oh! Right…I guess I should show what I mean…"_

_She held her hands out in front of her. Her horn didn't light up this time, the glow instead coming from her hands. After a few moments, the familiar image of Twilight's cutie mark materialized in front of her—a full-color projection of the image._

"_It's a spell that every single pony can do as soon as their get their cutie mark," Twilight said, "When they discover their special, unique talent, their body reacts, and they automatically project the image. After that, they can do it at will."_

"_Oh," Corey said. He held his own hands out in front of him, "I see. Well, I guess I should give it a shot…"_

_He tried to focus his mind on the concept he'd learned not more than ten minutes before. It was similar to Ki, a concept which he'd only heard of in fiction. As a kid, he would often pretend to use it. Now, however, he had to see if he could get it to work._

_He stood there, trying to relax, thinking of nothing but seeing if he could pull off the "Display Cutie Mark" trick. Whatever he did, didn't work. Corey tried a couple more times over the next few minutes, but continuously failed to produce any results._

"_Nothing…" Twilight said after his fourth attempt._

"_Yeah…" Corey said, putting his arms at his sides, "W-would I even have one?"_

"_What?" Twilight asked, "I mean…why wouldn't you? At your age-"_

"_I…I wasn't even really born here, and all…" Corey reminded her, stuttering now._

"_Well, there's only one way to find out…" Twilight bowed her head, now sounding awkward. Corey turned directly to face her. She seemed definitely conflicted now. "But… it's…usually what ponies do when they're…__**close**__…"_

_Corey began to feel just as conflicted, more so with what she just said. _

"_No choice…" Twilight said, "If we want to know whether or not you even have one, you're going to have to show me the other way…"_

_Corey blinked, and sweated just a little as his face unexpectedly turned red. His reaction embarrassed him far more than the simple thought that he was going to have to drop his pants. _

"_D-don't worry! It's not…that revealing…" Twilight said, "I guess… Anyway, a pony's cutie mark is located on the back, towards the shoulder blades."_

_Corey blinked again, this time merely processing what he was told. _

Less awkward, _Corey thought,_ Then again, I've never liked being shirtless back home…

_However, Corey had no other choice. By now, he really just wanted to know if he even had one._

"_W-well, if it's the only way we can find out whether or not it's there…" Corey said, already taking his jacket off…_

* * *

Corey's face lit up unnaturally as he remembered the feeling of that moment. He usually didn't care if he had to do such a thing—provided he needed to. It also didn't help he seemed to be about the same age as Twilight.

"So did you even have one?" John asked, seemingly blowing past the awkward look on Corey's face.

"Well…" Corey trailed off, trying to remember, "If you can believe it…"

* * *

_Corey stood, top half now bare. Something about the situation made him realize he wasn't quite as lean as he once thought he was in the new body. Maybe it was the fact a female was looking over him. _

_He couldn't see Twilight now, his back to her. His arms curled around his stomach area, as though he were trying to hide what remained of his girth._

"_Well?" Corey asked, already sick of standing around with no shirt on, "Do I have one?"_

"_Yes…" Twilight said, sounding unsure, "I'm not sure what it means, though."_

"_I have one?" Corey questioned, pausing, looking over his shoulder, trying to see it for himself, "What's it…look…like?"_

"_It's…" Twilight started, "It looks like a...black thought cloud, with…a lot of green…numbers in it. I can barely make out the numbers, though."_

"_Can you see what the numbers are?" Corey asked yet again, having an idea of where this was going. Twilight responded to this question by inquisitively putting a single finger to Corey's shoulder, which caused him to flinch a little._

"_They look like…a bunch of zeroes and ones…" Twilight said, sounding confused, not noticing Corey's discomfort at being poked._

_All of a sudden, Corey understood what his cutie mark was supposed to be…_

* * *

"So…" John said, nodding, taking another bite of the stolen apple, "Your talent is…"

"Coding," Corey responded, turning back to his book, "Like I thought, my unique skill lies in something that doesn't even exist here…"

"Well, look on the bright side," John said, after a brief pause.

"Bright side?" Corey asked.

"You have the most original ability on the planet," John responded, raising a finger as he took yet another bite.

"Great, but that's not the problem," Corey said, "In case you haven't noticed, there is not a single computer in this world. How am I going to use that skill of mine without one of those?"

After a brief pause, John gave his answer: "I have no idea…"

Corey set down his book and lifted his glasses slightly, putting his palm to his face, letting out a grumble that vaguely sounded like, "Helpful…"

"Well, if you can't use technology, why not use magic?" John asked.

"Don't think it works that way…" Corey responded, massaging his forehead, already tired of this conversation.

"Worth giving a try though, don't you think?" John followed this question with yet another crunch on the apple.

"Yeah, I'll get right on it after I finish another impossible feat," Corey mumbled, turning back to his book.

"You mean like sending two guys to another dimension?" John asked.

For a moment, Corey couldn't respond. Even after a few days of ruminating on the matter, he still hadn't come up with an explanation for how the code worked. He felt that he needed to inform John of this.

Before Corey could answer, a high pitched squeal interrupted the otherwise meaningful conversation.

"Hi!"

John's apple sprayed out of his mouth once again, while Corey fell out of his chair. After recovering from the shock, he looked up, spotting Pinkie Pie—not that he really needed to see who it was to know who it was. That squeal could be identified through the way it pierced Corey's eardrums alone.

"See you're laying down on your studies, huh, Corey?" She asked with a bubbly giggle.

"How do…you do that?" John responded, which was a valid question. Corey had experienced firsthand Pinkie's odd ability to teleport herself into rooms without even needing a door.

"No time to explain!" Pinkie said, turning towards John, "Take this and follow me!"

John stared at the object that Pinkie had just forced into his right hand—a fork, with complete confusion.

"What's—" John tried to start.

"No time!" Pinkie moved behind John before John or Corey could even notice her move, grabbing him by the hood of his sweater. Then, to both of the boys' respective surprise, Pinkie dragged John out of the room with no demonstrable effort.

"How are you—" John tried to question this as well.

"Sssh!" Pinkie gave him this for his efforts. Corey stood back up in silence, shaking off his shirt and jacket, trying to figure out what was going on.

_Pinkie just dragged John off…to what, I'm not sure. It's Pinkie Pie, the pony who exists in and out of the fourth wall…_ Corey thought to himself, _She handed John a fork, but who knows what that's for…oh well._

He quickly moved back into his seat, sitting back down and picking up _Of Parasprites and Stallions_, picking up where he'd left off.

"He did offer to help anypony who asked…" Corey chuckled to himself.

* * *

It had been over an hour since the lessons had ended. Twilight had spent most of the time pondering the information Corey had told her after he showed her his cutie mark. She wasn't sure what to make of his situation, but had nonetheless been relieved there were no hard feelings from the whole ordeal. Last she left him, he had started _Of Parasprites and Stallions_ by Inked Pin. It was a book she'd read through a couple of times before.

_I wonder how he's enjoying it…_ Twilight thought to herself as she walked through the hallway, towards where Corey had been left to his devices. _It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?_

She stopped at his door, which was half open. Twilight nearly passed through the door all the way, but decided to knock anyway. She wouldn't want somepony just barging in on her when she was trying to read. Besides, it was common courtesy.

"Come on in," Corey said, turning his head slightly.

Twilight passed into the room, her main question already on the tip of her tongue: "So how's the book?"

Corey didn't respond straight away. Twilight could see he was still reading the book, which in itself was understand. However, as she drew closer, she realized just how much Corey had done.

_He's already most of the way through the book? Well, to be fair, I did kinda overload him earlier…_ Twilight remembered.

Finally, Corey spoke, "I have to say, I'm surprised."

"Surprised?" Twilight asked, "How so?"

"Well…" Corey paused, looking over his page briefly before closing the book…without a bookmark. Twilight flinched just a little.

"If you want, I could get you a bookmark…" Twilight responded.

"I'll know where I am in the book. No worries," Corey said, turning to her, "Anyway, I'm surprised…I thought this book would be like one I read back home some time ago."

Now that was certainly interesting. Twilight had to learn more.

"A book you read back home was like this one?" Twilight asked, moving over to the chair she'd left and taking a seat, "Do you remember any of it?"

"Well…" Corey started, leaning back with one hand to his forehead, just to the left of his horn, massaging his forehead, "The book back home was called _Of Mice and Men_, and that novel isn't so…idealistic, I guess would be the word. The book was written before I was even born."

"So was this book," Twilight said, one brow raised at Corey's statement, "Well, for me anyway. Now, what makes you say that the book is idealistic?"

Corey's eyes were slightly wide at this comment.

"What?" Twilight asked, "I really don't get the chance to discuss this kind of thing with anypony else…"

"I…see…" Corey responded, looking vaguely like he was thinking about it, "Now…how do I put this? Well, the book in my world took place during probably one of the worst economic disasters in world history. Not a single developed country back home wasn't affected by it…"

Twilight listened intently—it was context to Corey's world's version of the book, as well as interesting extraterrestrial historical knowledge as well. From his account, the author of Corey's version of the book was someone who lived through that time; that human didn't have much reason to have such an idealistic outlook given how bad things were. Whatever the case, Twilight Sparkle sincerely hoped never to experience this "Great Depression" thing.

"…and, even though the books seem to have similar titles—though I don't know what a p-p-parasprite is…" Corey said, trying to wrap up his explanation.

"You don't want to know," Twilight nodded, recounting that little experience.

"The books are…different," Corey said, "There's a lot of…very _controversial_ things in my world, things that are…absent from this world's version."

"What do you mean, exactly?" Twilight asked.

"Well…" Corey looked away completely, having been more or less unable to meet her eyes—something which he'd had trouble doing anyway, so Twilight didn't take it as a bad sign, "I may not know how this world's version of the story ends, but I do know how my world's ends…"

"And…" Twilight tried to get the info out of him.

Corey's gaze shifted a bit, though it was clear he was uncomfortable. Twilight thought she'd had an idea.

"If you're worried about spoilers, don't worry," she said with a reassuring smile, "I don't think…" She paused awkwardly, immediately reminded of Corey's very unique situation, "…Well, you know..."

"Well…" Corey said, "It…it **doesn't end well**."

The tone of his voice suggested he was uncomfortable with talking about the ending. Whatever it was, Twilight did not know, but when she took into account what Corey had told her about the context of his world's version of the book, she had a funny feeling the tale took a much…darker, turn.

"I…" Twilight started, "I see. Well, you haven't finished the book yet, right?"

"I—" Corey said, before immediately blinking and looking down to the book on the table, "Oh, this book…Right. I…haven't."

Compared to earlier, Corey's face didn't turn so red, but he was still blushing. Twilight didn't get why he was doing it now.

"Well…" Twilight said, nodding towards the book, "Why don't you…finish the book, and maybe we can compare the books in full?"

The alicorn could barely hide her excitement at the prospect of doing so. The human turned unicorn was a little unsure if he could hold up through such a thing.

* * *

On the balcony, just outside of the royal bedchambers stood the two rules of Equestria. Neither looked to the other; their attention fully centered on the cycle between day and night. Celestia's horn was glowing a brilliant shade of amber as she willed the sun to move. And indeed, it began to, descending from the sky. When the sun began to go below the horizon line, Luna moved into action, her horn lighting up bright blue. The moon began to rise, along with the rest of the night sky, as the sun finished its hours-long arc across the sky for the day.

Now, not only was it officially night, but it also signified a change of hands in who dealt with the royal duties. Like the sun, Celestia too would rest for the night. Like the moon, Luna would now watch over the kingdom. Now that the change was completed, Luna turned to her side and gave her sister a warm smile.

"Pleasant dreams, sister!" Luna said, bidding her sister goodnight.

"Thank you, and have a pleasant night as well," Celestia responded, both returning to their chambers.

It had been a long day, though Celestia could not say she wasn't used to them after living for so long. Even now, though, it was a blessing to be able to rest her head for the night and relax. More so that her sister had returned—something which she would be forever grateful to Twilight and her friends.

After removing her regalia and placing them safely in their box, Celestia made her way towards her bed. Already her eyes were feeling heavy as sleep called to her. However, something much more urgent began to call to her attention.

There was a loud clamoring and clattering, and a loud slamming noise that filled the halls. Along with that, a panicked voice.

"Where is the princess?!" it shouted, its call echoing in Celestia's head as a sign that all was not well.

"By the goddesses!" Another voice shouted, filled with concern and fear, "What happened to you!?"

"No time!" the first voice said, "I must see the princess!"

"You can't see her in your condition!" a third voice joined in, having apparently heard the commotion. There was more of a commotion, grunting and more clattering—the sounds of what could have been ponies trying to hold this determined one back but to no avail.

"Get off!" he shouted, "I must tell her!"

There was no point in not hearing her subject's distress. It sounded too severe to overlook. With that in mind, Celestia made her way towards the door. However, before she could get there to hear what the problem was, the doors slammed open violently.

She gasped as she saw the figure that had been causing the panic. That much at least seemed obvious: it was one of the Royal Guards of the daytime. A light gray unicorn pony, who was battered and beaten, his armor damaged in several places, and slashed open in another. His mane and tail, silver in color, were both slightly singed. He had a couple of severe wounds that were bleeding, staining his fur and what was left of his armor. His eyes were wide—perhaps from shock.

"P-princess…" the guard wheezed, his previous strength seeming to vanish. By now, the two other ponies that had tried to stop him from barging in were directly behind him, their own eyes wide. The injured guard began to wheeze, "It's…it's happened…"

He only managed one step towards her before his knees buckled, causing him to fall to the floor. Finally, Celestia called herself from her shock, making her way to the guard's side. Sleep could definitely wait now.

"Call for medical attention, immediately!" Celestia commanded the other two guards. They saluted and immediately ran off to fulfill the request. She then knelt down at the guard's side, seeing his condition. His wounds were certainly grave, but he'd live if he got medical attention.

The guard was fighting to remain conscious, trying to relay his message—he'd obviously been through a lot, though.

"It's…it's happened…" He groaned, repeating himself.

"Do not speak right now," Celestia said softly, trying to be reassuring, "Conserve your strength."

"They're…they're open…" The guard continued, ignoring her, weakly raising himself upwards.

"What..." Celestia's face became stern as she considered what the injured guard was telling her, "What's happened?"

"The gates…the gates…" The guard coughed, extending his hand outwards, forcing himself to relay his message. A message that left no doubt in Celestia's mind the gravity of the situation at hand.

"_**The gates…are open!**_"

* * *

_**I'm pretty sure some of you might know where this is going. Well, you're going to have to keep waiting. And with this, we have reached the end of Act 1. Significantly shorter than the original (by about half the length). And from here on, is where things get messy.**_

_**So anyway, that's that. See you next week, same time, same...URL.**_


	11. Act 2 Chapter 1

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 1: Trouble Brewing**

* * *

It had been a pretty uneventful night in Ponyville. Ever the early bird, Twilight Sparkle was up and about, going over her notes that she'd compiled trying to come up with Corey's lessons. While Corey hadn't yet been able to produce an image of his cutie mark yet, Twilight had enough faith that he'd be able to it. However, once he was done with that, the real magic education would begin.

Corey wasn't up just yet—one thing she'd learned about him was that he was a very heavy sleeper. And he tended to snore a lot, too. John, meanwhile, was the early bird by far. He'd already been up and left to do his volunteer work around the town, whatever that would be.

As far as sleeping was concerned, John seemed to prefer sleeping out on one of the library's balconies. Corey, meanwhile, took up a spare bed opposite Twilight's own in her room. She didn't mind the extra pony in the room, but when he started singing the song of the sleepy…

Twilight's ear twitched as she registered that Corey was starting to snore again.

_It's a really good thing I've learned utility spells…_ Twilight thought to herself, _Number 39, "Earplugs"…_

As far as Corey was concerned, she decided to let him sleep. He was obviously still adjusting to the way things worked.

"So, Twilight," Spike said, walking by her desk, "Who's worse?"

"Huh?" Twilight asked, looking up from the notes she had to see Spike.

"Who snores worse, Rainbow or Corey?" Spike asked.

"I don't think it's really fair to say which," Twilight said, "He doesn't always snore, but when he does…"

Both looked up, the sound of another snore echoing from upstairs.

"And then you have Rainbow, who always snores, but I don't think it's as disturbing," Twilight continued her dissertation on snore volume, "But that could be just because we've known Rainbow for almost a year, while we've known Corey for less than a week…"

"I don't know," Spike looked up towards the room again, "But, hey, at least—"

Spike never got to finish his sentence, belching out a familiar green flame, barely having time to turn his head away before upchucking a letter. Spike held out one hand, catching the scroll. It was practically second nature after so many letters were exchanged.

Twilight blinked, both looking at the letter.

"A letter from Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked, reaching out for it. She unfurled the scroll, and began to read.

* * *

_To My Faithful Student:_

_Please gather your friends and meet me in the library. This is an urgent situation I must discuss with you all in person. Write me back once you're all gathered. _

_-Princess Celestia_

_P.S. For their own safety, please exclude Corey and John from this group. I believe they have enough to worry about on their own without worrying about this…_

* * *

Twilight's eyes widened as she read the letter and re-read it. What was the "urgent situation", and why were Corey and John to be kept in the dark? In fact, now that she thought about it, it seemed like Celestia had drafted the letter in a hurry. It was definitely her usual style, sure, but it seemed less like her usual, "flowing" style, and more like a scribble—not illegible scribble, but there were small details Twilight couldn't overlook.

"What happened?" she wondered aloud.

* * *

John had seen a lot of Ponyville over the course of his time there. He was sure he had yet to see the whole of the village. However, as of this moment, he was seeing an entirely different side of Ponyville; rather, a different angle. Currently, though not by choice, John was staring at an upside-down Ponyville. Only thing was, the town wasn't upside down. John himself was—hanging upside down by his feet thanks to a snare.

_How did I fall for this again?_ John thought to himself.

"_**Cutie Mark Crusaders Dragon Catchers, yay!**_" three voices shouted from below him.

_Oh yeah…That's how…_ John thought, _Last time I let kids talk me into standing on an "X"…_

John ran a hand across his face as he remembered how easily he was tricked, and by the Cutie Mark Crusaders of all ponies. Right now, the three fillies stood directly below him, looking around their bodies. Had he not heard Corey's own account, he wouldn't have known why they were doing it. However, since he had, he made an educated guess.

_They're looking for the projection of a cutie mark…_

"Nothing!" said Sweetie Belle, looking down on herself along with her friends. She wore a white dress over a purple blouse.

"Well, what do we do now?" asked Scootaloo, wanting to quickly change the group's new objective. She wore a dark yellow tanktop over an orange T-shirt and short gray pants.

"You know, that rope is holdin' him pretty good," Apple Bloom observed, looking up at him, "Suppose we try to get cutie marks in knot tyin'?" She wore a yellow T-shirt with blue overalls, and as always, the red bow in her hair.

"Sounds great!" Scootaloo said, pointing off in some random direction, "Let's get more rope!"

"Thanks, Mister Dragon!" all three called out in succession, zipping off.

"Glad to—" John only realized exactly what happened a few seconds later, "Wait, let me down first!"

By the time he realized it, though, it was too late. The little foals were already well out of earshot. John released a groan as he allowed his arm to droop towards the ground, the ends of his arms about a foot or two from the ground. This was then followed by a sigh.

_Not many ponies come through here…_ John thought, _How long am I gonna be here?_

"Eep!"

John blinked, knowing that "eep" well enough. He looked around the area, trying to find its owner. Eventually, he noticed something not too far off: someone hiding around the corner of a house. He couldn't see the whole body, but when he squinted, he saw a yellow hand that was squeezing the corner slightly.

"Fluttershy?" John asked. The hand squeezing the corner tensed. For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then, slowly, a pink mane became visible, and soon, the rest of the pegasus pony.

"O-oh…" Fluttershy stuttered, sounding like cornered prey rather than a concerned friend, "H-hello…"

_Still afraid of me? _John thought to himself, not surprised at all given what he was, _It's okay. It'll probably take some time before she'll stop being afraid of me. Well, it'd still be a challenge…but I like challenges._

"Say, could you maybe untie me?" John asked, breaking the shaky silence. Fluttershy shrunk a bit, taking a couple of small steps backwards.

"O-oh, I don't know," she said, looking away, "I-I have to be somewhere…a-and I'm kind of in a hurry…"

_Sounds about right, _John thought, _but if I didn't know better, I'd say she was trying to spare my feelings…oh well, best not push it._

"Fair enough," John waved, "Go on ahead…"

Fluttershy paused, obviously not expecting that kind of response from him.

"A-are you sure?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, go on," John assured her with a wave, "I'll probably find a way down eventually."

With that, John looked down towards his feet—towards the top of the tree, staring at the snare that bound him.

"Let's see…" John started, winding up for some kind of lunge or curl-up, "Maybe I can…"

John lunged, trying to grab the rope. However, he missed, falling back to his starting position, the world around him starting to spin.

"Yep…there's the head rush…" he observed, rubbing at his eyes a bit to try to clear his vision. John lowered his arms, the world around him still spinning, but less so. Despite the distortions, he could make out a figure beginning to move close by. Blinking his eyes repeatedly to clear up his line of sight, John managed to slow the spinning to see a surprising sight.

_Fluttershy?_ John was a little surprised to see her of all ponies moving close to him, _What's she doing…_

A few seconds later, John barely heard her musing about pulling something, and a few moments later, he learned exactly what it was: the rope holding the snare in place. The knot came undone, and John cleared the remaining distance to the ground…with his head.

"Oof!" John grunted, flipping over on his stomach a few moments later.

"Oh, d-dear!" Fluttershy realized what had happened, looking over to him from just behind the tree, "I-I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to!"

"No problems here," John said, reaching out one hand, "I barely felt it…"

"A-are you sure?" Fluttershy asked, "You don't look so good…"

"No need to worry, I'll be fine when the blood rushes out of my head," John responded, but Fluttershy didn't look overly convinced of his self-assessment. To try to convince her he'd be fine, he got up, despite the pounding in his head, leaning on the tree with his elbow.

"See, feeling better already," he said, "Like I said, no need to worry. Besides, didn't you say you have somewhere to be?"

"O-oh! Right," she took half a step away, "Um...n-nice meeting you again."

A moment later, Fluttershy took off. To where, John didn't know, nor did he really care. As soon as she took the next corner, John allowed himself to fall over on his back with a louder "thud" than he thought he'd make.

"Full conversation, she was close to me, and said it's nice to see me again," he said, lying on the ground. A moment later, one of his fists was raised in the air in triumph, "I'm making progress. Now, I just need a better way to show her that she doesn't need to be afraid of me…"

John abruptly felt awkward. It wasn't until he double-checked his surroundings that he understood why.

"And I've got to stop talking to myself…"

* * *

Twilight paced back and forth through the lobby nervously. Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack were there already. Fluttershy, surprisingly, hadn't arrived yet. She'd already written the note to Princess Celestia, but hadn't sent it yet, waiting until after everypony was present to send it—as instructed.

"All that's left is Fluttershy," Twilight said to herself, moving around.

"I'm sure she'll show up," Rarity said, glancing towards the door, "But it isn't like her to be running so late…"

The others couldn't exactly take comfort at this, least of all Twilight, especially after this morning's report. Or lack thereof. However, before anypony could voice their worry, there was a sudden knock at the door—soft, but there.

"I'll get it!" Pinkie chirped, hopping over to the door quickly and opening it, revealing who was knocking, "Look, it's Fluttershy! Don't need to worry about her!"

"Um…g-good morning, everypony," Fluttershy greeted, taking a few steps forward, "S-sorry for being so late…I had to h-help John out of a tree, and—"

The unholy sound of a demon assaulted her ears along with everypony else's, causing Fluttershy to dive for cover behind the nearest creature—which just so happened to be Spike, who cast a slight glance over his shoulder.

"W-what was that…?" she said, peeking out from behind the baby dragon.

"It's…" Twilight said, already walking to Spike with the note in her hand, "Corey. He's still asleep."

There was an uneasy pause as everypony took in that information. Rainbow Dash eventually snorted, amused.

"That's no way to behave in the presence of a lady…" Rarity said, only to wince a moment later as Corey let out a louder snore.

Spike took the note to Celestia and sprayed it with his special fire, transporting the letter to the princess.

"Well, Princess Celestia said for Corey and John not to be involved in this meeting," Twilight said, "I figured it'd just be easier to let him sleep. And John…you didn't tell him where you were going, did you Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy shook her head, wordlessly saying "no".

"Though…" Twilight turned to her room, her horn already lighting up in a magenta glow. A bubble of the same color briefly appeared over the wall and door, before fading out, "I'd better make sure he doesn't hear anything…"

"Soundproofing charm?" Spike asked.

"Yes," Twilight replied. "That should last through the meeting…"

A few moments later, a tremendous bang resonated through the room, followed by a flash. Everyone turned to where the noise came from to see Princess Celestia standing there.

"Princess…" said Twilight. This was the third time in a week she'd teleported in abruptly, but each of those times was due to an important reason.

"Greetings, everyone," Celestia greeted, "Thank you all for coming."

"So what's the matter, Princess?" Rainbow cut in, trying to get to the point.

"In a moment," Celestia cut her off, her horn lighting up. Applejack, who stood near the window, noticed an amber bubble surrounding the library, but once again, it only showed up for a few seconds.

"The soundproofing charm…?" Twilight asked, alarming everyone save for Celestia.

"That is correct," Celestia said, turning around, "I'm sensing another one just upstairs…"

"Corey's still asleep upstairs," Twilight confessed, "I decided to let him sleep and made sure he couldn't hear us…"

"And that we couldn't hear him," Rainbow said.

Celestia looked up for just a little longer, towards where she now knew Corey was. Apparently not detecting anything contrary to what Twilight said, she turned back to the group.

"I must apologize for the…extreme, precautions," Celestia said, "But you will soon see why they are needed."

Save for the greeting, Celestia spoke in a stern tone, not far removed from other times when she'd contacted the group to help solve a problem. This cast a shadow over the room, one that only seemed to deepen when she finally began to speak again.

"Before I begin, I must ask a simple question: what do you know of the gates of Tartarus?" Celestia asked.

"Tartarus?" Rarity asked, sounding like she knew the name from somewhere.

"It's the place where the worst of the worst go for their crimes," Twilight said, "The gates are guarded by not just a special unit, but by Cerberus, who was away from the vault for a time. I…uh, had to go make sure he went back to his post when he wandered here…"

"Tartarus was a prison for the most heinous of criminals across the land, not for just Equestria's criminals, but the worst of the worst from all around the world," the princess said, "It was constructed by my father, a long time ago, for that purpose, for creatures so far beyond redemption there is simply no alternative."

A cold chill went up everyone's spine as they considered why they were talking about such a place now, but it was Applejack who spoke up.

"And…" Applejack faltered, but pressed herself to speak what was on her mind, "You're tellin' us about this kinda place…It don't sound good."

Celestia distinctly frowned—quite a feat considered she was already scowling a bit at the news. In fact, now that Twilight really thought about it, it didn't look like Celestia had gotten too good a rest last night.

"The gates to Tartarus were opened last night," Celestia flatly announced, causing the entire group to gasp. She continued on, delivering the news as directly as possible. "We do not know the full details of what happened as of yet, or if any prisoners escaped. We managed to get the gates closed late last night. Princess Luna took over gate duty after the fact."

"Tartarus…" Twilight said, "A breakout?!"

"What kind of monsters could have escaped from such a place?!" Rarity shrieked, "I shudder to imagine…"

"We all do," Celestia said, "Unfortunately, we are still assessing the situation. We have no idea the extent of the breakout. The poor guard that managed to report to me on the situation…He was badly injured."

An uneasy silence took over the room, the weight of the situation putting a complete damper on the mood. Even Pinkie's hair, usually poofy and cheerful, had flattened a bit; that was how heavy the news was.

"C-C'mon," Rainbow spoke up, "It's not like we haven't dealt with this kinda stuff before, right?" She looked around from pony to pony (to dragon).

"While I commend your optimism, Rainbow Dash, I fear that this could very well exceed the dangers you have all faced before," Celestia said, "You faced Nightmare Moon, but beneath the terrifying mare in the moon was Princess Luna. You have faced Discord, but there are lines even his former self would not dare cross.

"They only being you've faced that would be on par with what we could be facing is King Sombra, but thanks to Cadence's shield, you were spared any prolonged contact with him. But believe me when I say that if he had his way…" Princess Celestia paused, closing her eyes, an unmistakably sickly look on her face. This alone put even more of a damper on the group's mood, wondering exactly how easy they had it before.

"It is just fortunate that he did not," she finally said, ending the silence, "These prisoners will not hesitate to cross a line that you have not yet seen, and they will do so without any remorse. Some…may even enjoy it."

If the situation had any physical weight to it, it would have crushed the group almost instantly. But, even without the physical aspect, it did crush Rainbow's previous optimism, and Fluttershy stumbled, falling to her knees, her eyes small and shaking. Seeing the fear in her subjects, Celestia moved to try to give some comfort.

"Believe you me when I say that I will do everything in my power to protect you and everypony else," Celestia made her attempt at assurance, but it was clear to her that the fear had already made itself a home in their hearts.

_I cannot blame them. These are dire times…_ Celestia thought.

"R-Rainbow," Fluttershy found it in her heart to stutter out a sentence, though her voice had mostly left her, "I-Is it okay if I s-stay with you for a-a while?"

Rainbow looked over to Fluttershy, putting one palm on her shoulder, "Sure thing, 'Shy."

"I understand your fears," Celestia said, "But I will make sure that nothing happens to you or anypony else. This, I promise you…"

* * *

Corey finally awoke, the morning having mostly gone. The sun was nearly at the top of the sky—it was nearly noon. He rose up, stretching. One hand went to his eyes as he threw the blanket off his body with the other. He looked around, sighing.

"If it wasn't a dream the last four times…" Corey said to himself, shaking his head as he got out of bed, "What time is it?"

Corey glanced to his left, then to his right.

"How does she do it?" Corey wondered to himself, "Get up so early on a consistent basis…"

He reached over to the nightstand next to his bed, putting on his glasses before heading to the bedroom door, opening it slowly. He poked his head out of the room, looking around the lobby area, seeing if he could find any sign of the creatures he was now living with.

"Twilight?" Corey said, looking around, "I'm up…"

No response. Corey looked around, and decided to take a few steps out of the room.

"Twilight?" Corey asked, a bit louder and more firmly, "Are you here?"

Still nothing. Corey was starting to wonder where someone was. Even if Twilight wasn't here for whatever reason, Spike would have at least said something. What was going on?

"Uh, anybody home?" Corey asked, looking around, walking through the library house. It wasn't like he was exposed in any manner, so he wasn't too worried if someone saw him fresh out of bed. He decided to make his way towards the kitchen—he needed to find something to eat, even if no one was around. Even if it was just toast.

However, as he crossed the threshold, he noticed something: a certain purple pony sitting at the table, a half-full mug of some liquid in front of her. However, before Corey could say anything, she looked up, gasping.

"C-Corey?!" she said, "Y-you're awake?"

"I was…" Corey tilted his head, noticing something else off about the picture, "I was asking if you were here…"

"Sorry, I…I guess I must've been…" she looked away from him, one hand to her chin. Corey couldn't help but notice the pensive look on her face.

"Are you…" Corey took a single step forward, hunching over, "Are you feeling okay?"

Twilight gasped, standing up.

"Of-of course!" she said, nearly knocking over the mug as she rushed to her feet, "N-never been better!"

Corey took a step back, not sure what was going on, "Are you sure?"

"Everything's fine!" she said, perhaps a little too quickly.

Corey looked around, really wondering what had happened, mumbling to himself, "Did…did I miss something…"

"No, not at all!"

Corey grunted as he was abruptly spun around. A couple of moments later, he found himself being pushed out of the kitchen.

"I…" Corey could at least detect the urgency in the mare's tone. She wanted that subject changed, but why?

"You've…you've still got a lot on your plate…" Twilight said, her tone less…sharp, for lack of a better term, "Don't worry about it…"

_The more you say that, Twilight…_ Corey thought, unwilling to prod further, afraid she'd launch him magically next. _The more I worry…_

* * *

**_And here's where we start Act 2. Let's see if I can get through Act 2 this time around. This act will be roughly as long as the old Collision Code's Act 2 was planned to be (in terms of chapters)._**


	12. Act 2 Chapter 2

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 2: Tension**

* * *

The royal Canterlot hospital had seen a good number of guardsponies from time to time, whether it was a training accident or some other workplace-related hazard. However, this was the most they'd seen since the scuffle with the Changelings. While they'd all survive, some were less lucky than others.

A light gray unicorn was flat on his back in one hospital bed, his hospital gown draped over him like any other patient. Bandages covered most of his body, including one side of his face.

The other ponies around him were his comrades down there in that horrid place. All of them had experienced the same terror he had. Were it not for what he had done, his comrades may not have seen the light of day again.

Now, however, Noble Sword remains in slumber, having passed out since delivering the message to Princess Celestia. His body jerked around as he grunted lightly, as though he were fighting some unseen enemy.

* * *

"_Watch out!" _

_Noble Sword ducked low as one of the prisoners clawed out at him with his intensely sharp claws. He had no time to drum into his head the details of this prisoner, more focused on just staying alive, planning to report this to the Princess as soon as possible._

_All had seemed normal…until the guards had gotten close enough. Just behind the gates was a festering crowd of prisoners, held back by elite guards from the day's Royal Guard and the night's Night Patrol. _

_Noble Sword and company had managed to get close, but, like a massive zit, the gates of Tartarus had burst open—a full-scale prison riot had erupted. The elites had somehow failed to contain the rioting prisoners, fueled by what seemed like a need for the freedom they did not deserve._

_The elites had already been through hell and back; some of the prisoners also looked significantly banged-up. It only got worse from there. The crazed prisoners drew energy from their drive for freedom—he wasn't sure where it was all coming from. Nopony could tell him._

_Noble Sword struck back with a laser spell, knocking his aggressor back a bit. However, as expected of an inmate, it wasn't enough to take them down. Suddenly, a crushing blow struck Noble from the side, putting a dent in the side of his breastplate. Noble stumbled, managing to right himself._

_There was no time for him to really register the newcomer, either, especially since the newcomer—he had to be maybe twice the height of the average pony—began to charge him, the intent to kill in his eyes. _

_Noble Sword's magic began to manifest itself. His horn lit up in a red-violet light, and a moment later, his left and right forearms grew magical blades—meant for use in this kind of situation, of course. He stood his ground, aiming to disable his new assailant with an "X"-slice._

_However, his blades didn't even make it past the creature's hide. The blades on his arms skidded to a halt against his skin and actually chipped, and a moment later, Noble was lifted from his feet by the strike, his armor getting another huge dent in the center of his chest._

_Noble stood up, looking around. It was a horrible, horrible mess, and he grit his teeth._

"_Darn it…" he said, looking back ahead of him as the large prisoner leapt towards him, aiming to continue the fight._

"_You feelin' powerless yet?!" the prisoner roared, Noble quickly raising his chipped arm-blades, trying to defend from the prisoner's claw attack. Not only was his hide insanely durable, but so were his claws. While the prisoner's attack didn't penetrate the magic, it did cause his swords to shatter the rest of the way. A follow-up claw came down, coming dangerously close to putting a gash through his eye._

_Noble Sword already knew he was starting to bleed, even as he was knocked back again, this time from this prisoner's kick. This was the one that shattered his armor, and he went flying back, eventually sliding to a halt on his back. He looked up, trying to get on his feet. _

"_Can't…let this guy out…" Noble grumbled to himself, trying desperately to get himself back into fighting condition._

"_Noble!" A voice shouted, and his opponent turned his head. Two of the ponies from his squad were coming to his aid, looking only slightly better than he did. _

"_Brave?! Proud?!" Noble shouted the names of his comrades._

_One was an earth pony with a bulky build wielding a large hammer, striking the large prisoner hard enough to manage to make him take a step back. This was Brave Hart, red in color with a dark blue mane and tail. The other pony, Proudshot, was a pegasus pony, dark blue with a goldenrod mane and tail. He held a bow and arrow in his hands, three arrows set for an attack. _

_Proud, as he was called, released the string of his bow, sending them flying towards the wayward prisoner. These arrows would have totally ineffective were it not for the fact the arrows were enchanted with the element of ice. The arrows soared towards their opponent, making contact with his body, each arrow exploding into solid ice._

"_That won't hold him for long!" Proudshot shouted, landing in front of Noble._

"_We have to send notice of this to the Princesses," Brave said, joining his comrades, holding his hammer in both hands._

"_There won't be time!" Proud shouted, "By the time it gets there, it'll already be too late!" _

_The three stood close together, racking their brains, trying to find the best way to get the message out._

"_Even the fastest pegasus among us would take over an hour to get there…" Noble panted, having finally gotten to his feet, "And that was if he was healthy!"_

"_We don't have direct lines to the princess either," Brave said, "That would make it easier…"_

"_And we can't just keep fighting…This isn't going to end well if we just keep fighting like this…" Proud pointed out. The prisoner was beginning to shake off the effect of the ice arrows, looking over his opponents menacingly, like a predator waiting for its prey._

_At once, Noble Sword came to a decision._

"_There is one way…!" he announced, gathering all his focus._

_By the time Brave and Proud turned to see him, they saw his horn glowing a brilliant red, his entire body seemingly glowing with yet-unseen power._

"_Noble, no!" Brave shouted, "Canterlot is too far! If you try to teleport straight there, it could take up more magic than you have!"_

"_If I do nothing, the result's going to be the same!" Noble shouted, "This is the kind of thing we've trained for, remember?! 'To protect and serve together'…that was the pact we made as kids, right?"_

_Brave and Pride both hesitated, but eventually gave a slow nod, knowing he was right._

"_Lay your trust on me," Noble grunted, only now becoming aware of how much magic he was using up, "I promise that we will live to fight again!" _

_The magic on his horn and in his body reached its critical point. At that moment, there was a violent flash that enveloped Noble's vision…_

* * *

Noble Sword gave a sharp gasp, sitting straight up in his bed, sweat coming out of what felt like every pore on his body. His entire body immediately screamed at him in protest, and he immediately slumped backwards with a groan. Finally, his eyes opened—and he realized he was only able to see out of one eye. He patted at his face with one arm—even that act sent his nerves on a hissy fit.

"Right…" Noble grumbled to himself, "Last night…"

He looked slowly around the room, seeing a lot of familiar ponies resting up. They were probably in no better condition than he was, and Noble began to worry.

"Did…" Noble said aloud, "Did I make it?"

"Do not worry," a gentle voice said from his left, causing him to give a knowing gasp, "You have done your duty."

Noble gently turned his head towards the voice, seeing Princess Celestia standing there, overlooking not just him specifically, but the whole room.

"P-princess…" Noble groaned, trying to lift himself up again.

"No," Princess Celestia said to him, in a gentle voice, "It's okay. Please do not push yourself any further."

"The gates—" continued Noble, trying his hardest to convey the situation he wasn't sure if he had managed to tell.

"We know," Celestia said, "We know very well what happened down there now. After your…report, on the incident, Princess Luna came down to help resolve the issue. Still, we're trying to figure out who escaped and how this all happened…"

Noble paused, looking down towards his sheets now. He felt ill, knowing this had happened the way it did.

"If only I'd realized it sooner…" Noble said after an uneasy silence, "Maybe we could have—'

"Calm down," Celestia said, all calmness herself, not letting her tone betray the uneasiness she felt knowing that Tartarus had, even if for a little while, been compromised, "Nopony had any way of knowing that this was going to happen. You did what you could, and because of it, nopony from the squads was mortally wounded. For now, take a rest. You have done your duty."

Noble continued to look up towards the princess for several seconds, but he had no words to say. He looked around the room—truly looked around the room, for the first time. He could see many familiar faces from the battle that night.

"They are here today, thanks to you…" Celestia said.

Noble at last closed his eyes, letting out a small sigh of relief. He allowed himself to lower back onto his pillow, feeling comfortable for the first time since the riot broke out. Within seconds, he was back to sleep. Not that Princess Celestia could blame him. She sat there for a while longer, looking over the injured.

_I can not thank you all enough for your efforts, _Celestia thought to herself, _Were it not for your brave sacrifices—_

"Sister…" The voice was familiar; Celestia turned to see who it was. At the door was Princess Luna, in her royal battle armor—the same color as her usual regalia, but far more protective. Aside from a few scuffs on the armor itself, Luna was completely unharmed—seeing her sister unharmed, Celestia sighed in relief.

"Welcome home, Luna," Celestia said, walking over to Luna. However, as she got closer, Celestia quickly took notice of her sister's expression. It wasn't a proud look; one that let you know everything was alright.

"What happened?" Celestia whispered—even that would be pushing it, she spoke so quietly. Luna looked around at the guards who were bandaged up in the room, before looking back to Celestia.

"Come with me," Luna said, taking half a step away, "There is something I must share with you…"

* * *

John had found himself a nice open area on top of a hill to lay back on. After the blood that was in his head had finally begun circulating normally through his system, John decided to take some time to himself for a change. He looked up into the sky, at the clouds, something he hadn't done in years, as he indulged in his rest.

_Wonder what it'd feel like…_ John thought to himself, reaching up to the sky with one clawed hand. _To stand on a cloud? Maybe I'll get a chance one of these days. You can stand on clouds here, after all…_

Much as he liked just lying back and thinking about things, it wasn't something he found entertaining in large doses. Picking himself up from the ground, John began to think about other things, or rather, people.

_Wonder what the others are up to…_ John thought, _Other than Fluttershy, I haven't seen any of the others…usually I'd have run into Rainbow practicing or Applejack going in or out of town by now. But then again, Fluttershy did say she had somewhere to be…so maybe they're all together?_

John began to make his way down his hill, wondering exactly what was going on. It certainly made sense that they'd be together. Yet, previous experience from the show told him that it could be bad; however, John dismissed this—since he and Corey entered Equestria, it had been peaceful. He had no reason to worry about it.

Eventually, John managed to make his way back into town. At first glance, everything looked normal. Everypony in the town seemed to be going about their business, walking around on the ground or flying over his head. Speaking of which, as John continued to look into the sky, he noticed two certain pegasi up there.

"Hey, it's Fluttershy and Rainbow," John said to himself aloud, seeing them flying in his direction. He raised a hand to them in a wave.

"Hey Rainbow," John raised his voice just a little—not too much, he was in the middle of town, "When's the next—"

As if they hadn't noticed him, Rainbow and Fluttershy kept going past him.

"Flying…lesson…" John watched them fly off for a few seconds more, before shrugging, "Guess they didn't hear me. They were pretty high up. Oh well, guess I'll try to catch her later."

With that, John began to walk back towards the library, one thing on his mind.

"Guess I'll see what Corey's up to," John said, chuckling to himself as Corey's sleeping habits popped up in his head, "If he's awake, that is…"

* * *

Corey held his hands out in front of him, cupping them like they were full of water, eyes closed, focusing. He'd been at this step for at least an hour after getting back in his regular clothes and otherwise just preparing for the day. Of course, he hadn't had much luck in his previous attempts.

Twilight was more or less reading one of the beginner's books, trying to figure out what to do next, despite the clouds in her head. She would occasionally glance over to him, but mainly left him to his devices.

_What should I teach him first…?_ Twilight thought, looking over the pages, _I guess you can't go wrong with levitation…but what else after that? It's not like I can teach him self-defense spells without him knowing something's up…_

She looked over to him, his face strained with focus.

_He's already been through so much…_ she thought to herself. As she looked to him, she saw something come off of Corey's hands: a pulse, green in color. Twilight paused, seeing this.

"Is he…" she said aloud to herself, seeing it. A few moments later, small, indiscernible shapes began to form around Corey's hands.

It happened all at once from there. Another pulse of magical energy came off of Corey's hands, then another. After the third pulse, a black mist seemed to form, and the green zeroes and ones began to fill the mist. Twilight suppressed the urge to call out to Corey to tell him what was wrong—he'd spent quite a while trying to get this far, and she didn't want to risk him losing his concentration now.

Instead, Twilight rose from her seat and walked up to Corey, reaching out to touch his shoulder. When her hand made contact, Corey turned, eyes open, apparently not noticing the magical projection over his hands. All he could see was her smiling back to him.

"What?" Corey asked, feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Twilight didn't say anything; she only tilted her head slightly, motioning him to look back to his hands. Confused, Corey followed the direction, and eventually, he saw it, letting out a gasp.

"I…" Corey started, staring at the binary cloud, "I did it…"

"I knew you could do it," Twilight said.

"Up until now…that made one of us…" Corey said, "Part of me wondered…if I'd ever be able to pull it off, but now…"

Twilight giggled a little as a memory washed over her.

_Reminds me of when I first used magic…_ she thought to herself, _Though…it wasn't as…controlled. But still, I bet I felt the same way…_

Twilight blinked, realizing she was now looking up towards the ceiling. Had she zoned out? Whatever the case, she had to get back on track as a teacher.

"Now that you managed to use the spell, we need to work on your control a bit," Twilight said, moving her head to look back to Corey, "It took you nearly—"

She halted, looking at Corey now. He hadn't changed back into whatever he looked like before; he certainly hadn't undergone any massive change. But it was the smallest change that counted.

_He's…smiling. _Twilight thought, looking at his face. _It's not like I haven't seen him smile before this, but now…_ Twilight continued to stare at Corey, who continued to smile at the projection of his cutie mark. There was a certain sparkle in his eyes, a glimmer of pride she hadn't seen in him since he first arrived. _It's like all of his previous smiles were just a mask…Is this…is this the real him?_

Corey eventually noticed Twilight wasn't looking at his projection anymore. When he looked back to her, he saw that her focus was now entirely on him—a fact that suddenly made him very uncomfortable.

"W-what's wrong?" Corey asked flatly.

Twilight realized she was staring, and very lightly blushed, realizing what she was doing.

"O-oh, it's…it's nothing," Twilight said, looking away slightly, "It was just…well, your smile…"

"M-my smile…?" Corey asked, his eyes wide, "W-what's wrong with…?" Corey's projection disappeared, as he moved his hands to hide his mouth.

"N-nothing!" Twilight said, turning back to him, "Nothing at all! It's just…well, for the first time since I met you, you actually looked happy…"

Corey blinked, unsure what exactly she was talking about. But any response he had was shot down by Twilight's next statement.

"You have a really nice smile, you know…"

"O-oh…" Corey stuttered, his face rapidly flushing.

_Fatal error at . Reboot in Safe Mode?_

"Um, thank you…" Corey said, "Y-you have…you have a nice smile too…"

_Why did I say that?!_ Corey thought to himself, embarrassed at his reaction.

Twilight blushed slightly, and the air in the room changed again—now a fog of awkward had settled into the room, and for the life of her, Twilight couldn't figure out an answer to the new question that plagued her.

_W-what…what just happened?_

* * *

_**What happened, indeed...And that's where I leave off for another week. See you all next time.**_


	13. Act 2 Chapter 3

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 3: Progress Report**

* * *

If there was one thing that anyone knew about Corey, it would be his total lack of ability to deal with an unfamiliar situation. And right now, that situation involved figuring out what to do right after complimenting a girl on her smile. Even if said girl was a pony…

_What do I say now? _Corey thought, _No one's said a word for so long…wait! I know! I can try to shift the subject back to the lessons…That should work! Just say you're going to try projecting your mark again…_

It was certainly a foolproof plan, as well as the most obvious one. However, Corey found that over the course of the next several seconds, he hadn't said a single word; not even moving an inch from his spot.

_Say something, damn you!_ Corey snapped at his own mind.

_**Voice -dot- exe not found.**_ His mind droned back; Corey could have sworn he heard a Windows error sound accompany the error message.

_Oh come on! When did I run on Windows Vista?!_ Corey argued back, completely oblivious to the mare beside him. She stood next to him, staring off into space, deep in thought.

_What…just happened?_ Twilight thought to herself, _All he did was compliment me on my smile…why am I at a loss for words? It's not like I haven't been complimented before, right?_

_**How many of them were stallions?**_ Her mind asked back at her, _**Specifically, ones **_**not **_**related to you.**_

Twilight blinked, _That's…right. The only other ponies who ever complimented me like that were my friends—most of whom are mares. And we'd always throw compliments like that around…I mean, sure, I do have friends who are stallions, but none of them ever said anything like that to me…oh! Why am I at such a loss…_

Neither one could bring themselves to say anything. The dense fog of awkward that had settled into the room continued to thicken. All they could do was stand in silence, awkwardly looking away from one another, trying to shift the focus but not seeing any way to do so—

"Hello?" A familiar voice came from the other room, "Anyone here?"

Both Corey and Twilight turned their heads towards the door of the room—that was the way out they were looking for.

"We're in here!" Both called out at the same time.

_Did we just…_ Corey thought, turning to Twilight; she turned back, having realized it herself. Both subsequently blinked.

_So close!_ Twilight thought, not sure what to think all of a sudden about that kind of thing.

"Hope I'm not interrupting any…thing…" John came into the room, pausing as he stepped through the doorway. He took notice of how close they were standing together, and quickly moved to say something lest he start giggling—a grin was already forming on his mouth, and he tried hard to suppress that.

"Oh…um, is this a bad time?"

"No, not at all!" Twilight said, talking just a little faster than normal, "Actually, Corey just finished his first lesson and now he's taking a break."

Twilight found it in herself to move once again, making her way to the door.

"I'll make us some tea…" she said, leaving the room. John looked back at Twilight as she left, confused. He turned to Corey, who also watched her leave with a puzzled—no, troubled?—expression on his face.

"What was that all about?" John asked.

Corey didn't respond straight away.

"Corey?" John asked again, finally getting his attention.

"I'm…not sure…" Corey finally said, pushing his glasses back up onto his face and turning away.

* * *

After a few minutes, the tea had been prepared. Twilight poured a cup for John, Corey, and herself.

"Let me know if you need anything else," Twilight said, "I'm going to take care of something real quick."

Twilight quickly walked out of the room without too much more said. Once she was gone, John and Corey picked up their respective cups from the table. The two sat in silence for a few seconds, before John spoke up.

"So how's the magic lessons going?" John asked, taking a small sip of his tea. He winced at the taste, but only slightly.

"Well," Corey started, fiddling idly with the cup as he tried to gauge the heat of the tea, "I'm making some progress. Managed to project my cutie mark, though it took a while." Finally, Corey took a small sip of his tea.

"How'd it feel?" John asked.

"It felt…" Corey said, pausing as a very notable smile began to spread across his lips, "Amazing…It was slight, but once I noticed I'd actually done it, I could feel the magic I was giving off. It was the first time since lessons started that I actually believed that I could do it…That—that I can actually learn how to be a unicorn."

_Is this really the same Corey from when we first arrived?_ John thought to himself, noting Corey's reaction now versus way back then, _After Celestia told us we were stuck here…I'd never seen so much despair in a person—pony, before. But now he looks…happy?_

"So what about you?" Corey's face went back to its natural blank slate as he asked his next question, taking another sip.

"Huh?" John asked.

"What have you been up to?" Corey said again.

"Oh," John recovered from his slump, "Well, Rainbow's offered to teach me how to fly…"

Corey looked to John and raised a brow.

"Can't say I can see it…" Corey said, "So how's she going about it…"

"Well, do you know how birds teach their young?" John answered with another question.

Corey stared at John for a few seconds before starting to snicker, "You just let her push you off a ledge?!"

"She blindsided me!" John said, "She took me to the top of a waterfall, told me she'd teach me how to fly, lead me to the edge and—"

John only now realized the look Corey was giving him as he went on. Only after Corey started to full-on laugh did John realize exactly what was wrong with his explanation.

"I should have seen it coming," John groaned with a facepalm.

It took a bit for Corey to control himself, but as soon as he did, John continued on with his story.

"Anyway…" John cut in, making sure to redirect the conversation towards what they learned, "I started to learn how to control my wings," John opened his wings and flapped them, hard, but just once, "Haven't tried to take off on my own yet, but I'm making progress."

"Guess we're both getting used to our new bodies," Corey said, looking down to his tea, looking at his reflection, "Still hard to believe we're in these bodies sometimes…"

"Yeah," John said, "Bet the guys back home wouldn't believe it either."

At the mention of "home", both friends went into silence once more. Since the first day, neither had mentioned their homeworld to one another.

"…h-how often do you think of it? Home, I mean," Corey asked after a few minutes of silence. John placed his cup down, letting out a small sigh.

"I've thought of home since the moment we learned we were stuck here…" he said, "Sometimes it makes it hard to sleep at night."

For the first time since arriving, Corey noted that John definitely seemed bothered—his laid-back demeanor had vanished, the much larger dragon hunching over in his set.

"It's…kind of been the same for me…" Corey said, "Only time I can get my mind off of it is during my lessons…even if only for a while, they help me forget," Corey took in a shuddering sigh as emotions began to wash over him, emotions he'd tried to forget from that night.

_I wonder how they're doing right now…_ Corey thought to himself, _Mom…God, I don't want to imagine how she must have taken it… Dad…I'm sorry…My sister…can't be taking it well…either. Ivan…Leo…how are they holding up now that we're not around…_

Corey had hung his head, and had realized his eyes were starting to water now.

_You don't even realize the niche you have in your world until after you lost it…_ Corey thought, _How will everyone remember me? _

John didn't look at Corey, too busy thinking about his own personal life.

_What do they think happened to me…_ John thought, _How are they coping with me being gone? I…I can't get the image out of my head, of my family sitting around, crying, wondering if I'm okay…_

"John…" Corey said, his glasses on the table, rubbing at the bridge of his nose, not looking up to him, "Think we'll…ever stop thinking about it…?"

"Doubt it…" John responded, sighing again, "But maybe with time…it'll get easier…"

Both Corey and John went totally silent, a somber cloud having found its way into the room. It settled in, and refused to leave.

* * *

Twilight stood outside the hall, just to the side of the door. Her brows were furrowed, and she was frowning. She had just about made it back to the room when she heard their conversation. She had tried to give them privacy, but when she heard them start talking about home, she found it impossible to move away. Now, she wished that she had, as the cloud that was in that room was starting to affect her once again, creating a pit in her stomach.

_I knew they were having a hard time, but this…_ Twilight thought, _This…_

She hung her head, turning her head away from the door.

_This confirms it…_ Twilight continued, _They are already going through so much…I can't let them know about the breakout. I hope everything's going to be fine, and that they'll never have to know what's happened…_

* * *

Once Celestia and Luna left the intensive care unit of the hospital, they both made their way towards the roof. As they walked, Celestia couldn't help but notice the troubled look on her sister's face. Something was wrong. There was no doubt about that, but she knew there could have been quite a few things that were giving Luna trouble. At the moment, there was one particular possibility that crossed Celestia's mind more than once, and she prayed that she was wrong.

Once on the roof, Celestia locked the door behind them. For added protection, Luna cast a spell that caused the light to refract away from them such that nopony could hear them. After Celestia put up yet another soundproof barrier encompassing the roof, she turned to her sister, and began to speak.

"No one should be able to hear us now," Celestia said, walking up to her sister, "Please, tell me what's wrong."

Luna didn't turn around straight away as she prepared to speak. Soon as she gathered herself, she turned towards her sister, and began her report.

"I'll begin with what I'm sure we were both worried of from the moment we heard of the break out," Luna said, "Tirek is still in his cell."

Celestia couldn't withhold her sigh of relief.

_He was possibly the greatest threat, out of all the prisoners in Tartarus…and yet..._ Noting Luna was still uncomfortable, Celestia's relief suddenly went back down.

"If this is true, then what is it that troubles you?" asked Celestia, not liking the fact her sister didn't look relieved at that news.

Luna looked away for a moment. With a sigh, she turned back to Celestia, and said: "As of now, three prisoners are unaccounted for."

Celestia felt her heart lurch—it was exactly what she feared. There was no telling exactly how many escaped, or how far they could have gotten by now.

"I will assemble a team," said Celestia as she turned towards the door, "With any luck we can find them before—"

"There's more." Luna cut her off midsentence. Celestia stopped; this had to be more important information.

"Celestia, tell me, how many levels are there in Tartarus?" Luna asked.

"Don't you know, Sister?" asked Celestia, "There haven't been any alterations to Tartarus for eons. We should both know the answer…eight? Is that not right?"

"What if I told you…that I found a ninth?"

Celestia froze; she'd been to Tartarus before to lock away prisoners. Not once had she ever heard of that before then.

"How?" Celestia asked.

"It happened when I went to Tirek's cell," Luna began, "As I said, he was still there. But before I left, I found something else that I have never seen before."

Celestia would have answered with another question, but found that it would have been redundant.

"On the very edge of the eighth level, I found a staircase that lead downwards. Around it were the scattered remains of what we thought was the impregnable wall. I followed the path down to a ninth level, only to find that not only was it no bigger than a normal room, but that it only had a single cell."

Luna paused, clearing her throat.

"This cell was like nothing I have ever seen before. There was powerful magic behind it; magic more powerful than what our combined strength could manage. And…it was empty."

Celestia felt a cold chill run down her spine as she processed this information.

_I don't understand…why would there be another level in Tartarus for just one prisoner—one prisoner with a specially designed cell as well? It doesn't add up…All this time, I'd thought I'd known everything there was to know of that place…but it would seem not…_

* * *

_Day 5_

_I actually did it. I projected my cutie mark. I can actually do magic. I'm actually going to learn how to be a unicorn. If anything…it'll soothe the pain of…not being able to see home again._

_I can't believe it, though. I'm wanting to be happy about what I've done—I should be. I need to be. I sort of am. But there's just one thing that's holding me back. Maybe I shouldn't worry about it, but…_

_Twilight was nice to me, right from the start. I know what it's like to be the one that everyone has doubts about…time and again I managed to prove them wrong. However, that was the one time I genuinely feared I wouldn't. Even when she had every right to assume I could have been a sick monster that sicced the least destructive dragon in the history of __ponykind, she still managed to treat me nice._

_She didn't even hold it against me when I'd lashed out at her. Ever since I dropped in, she has been nothing but supporting of me, trying to help me out when I was feeling down. But now, she's the one that seems to be worried about something._

_Something tells me I shouldn't stick my nose in her business—whatever it is that's bothering her…But…but…_

_I __can't__ just leave her like this…from the moment I woke up she was worried, and even now she still can't seem to settle down. I want to do the same thing for her that she did for me. Even if the situations aren't similar._

_Well, I guess that's that, huh? Better try to get some sleep. Gonna start learning magic tomorrow._

_-Corey_

* * *

**_And here's where we leave off for another week. Pretty much all I have to say on that._**


	14. Act 2 Chapter 4

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 4: The Real Lessons Begin**

* * *

"Easy, easy, almost there…"

John was continuing his lessons today. And just like every other time beforehand, he had just jumped off of the edge of the waterfall. But his fall was different this time. This time, he managed to control his fall by catching the air with his wings. The first time he'd opened his wings mid-fall, it had sent him way off course and resulted in a crash landing.

_At least this time, it's going better…_ It took a bit of effort, but now he was able to control his path as he slowly descended towards the water below. Occasionally, he'd catch a wayward updraft along the way, but his control was far better.

"Good, you're almost there," Rainbow said, floating down next to him, "Now I want you to try and land on the ground."

John gave Rainbow a nod and arched his wings slightly so that he could move forward.

_I have more control over my wings now than I did before…how much thought did she put into this? _John thought, continuing his way downwards, his eyes locked to the ground not too far from the water. It wasn't too long until he was floating just a few feet above it, slowly listing downwards, fighting gravity.

_Now for the moment of truth…_

All at once, John retracted his wings. His feet made contact with the ground—a good, clean impact, no slips, no spills. For several seconds, John looked down at the ground for several seconds, in pure disbelief, before looking back up at the waterfall.

_That was…my first clean landing…_

"Not bad," Rainbow said, patting John on the back, "You're getting your wing control down but you're still going a little too slow. Tomorrow, we'll work on your speed."

"Can't wait," John said, turning back to her with a smile.

"Great," Rainbow said, beginning to walk off, "Now, come with me."

"Where are we going?" John asked, already beginning to follow.

"Just to have a little fun," Rainbow said, with a sly smile on her face, "We'll need markers and some big pieces of parchment."

John wasn't sure of what Rainbow had in mind at all, but he had a pretty good feeling it wasn't going to be anything too bad.

_After all, _John thought, continuing to follow Rainbow, _a little fun never hurt anyone, right?_

* * *

It was another late morning for Corey. Though, considering everyone else who lived in the library seemed to be an early bird, it wasn't saying much today. While Corey was a bit slow in getting ready for the day, he was ready, and it was time for him to start learning some actual magic.

Which was why he was walking through the hallways of the library now.

_Now that I know I can access magic, I really don't have an excuse…_ Corey thought, _She knows I don't take that long…so where'd she go…_

Corey felt his ear twitch, an annoying sensation he was still getting used to. He picked up the sound of shuffling parchment, a sound that would have escaped his notice were it not for the fact it happened in a room next to him. The door was slightly ajar; offering him a very small viewing window into the room. Corey looked to the door hesitantly, lifting one arm halfway.

_Please don't let me be walking in on something awkward…_ Corey thought to himself, taking a deep breath before walking in.

Thankfully, the reality was far more innocent than his worries. Twilight was in front of him, still in her usual outfit, her back to him. She was standing up, reading over what he assumed was a letter from Princess Celestia. Spike was a few feet to her right, facing her, an expectant look on his face.

_Or does he look worried—_

Before Corey could try to piece together what he was seeing completely, Spike's eyes turned towards him, and he blinked. He then turned his attention to Twilight, and began motioning towards him.

"Twilight…" Spike said. Corey couldn't help but notice how tense he sounded—something that wasn't quite normal for him.

Twilight moved her head slightly; she did see him, but she was still clearly reading the letter. After a moment, she paused, turning her head a bit more to look at him, and only then did her eyes widen, rolling up the parchment and setting it down on the desk nearby.

"Oh! Corey!" Twilight gasped, quickly turning to face him, putting herself directly between him and the desk, casting a nervous glance back to the scroll she'd rolled up, "Uh…"

"I'm sorry," Corey said, raising an eyebrow as he wondered what he'd just interrupted, "I should have knocked," Curiosity got the better of him after he took a single breath, "What…did I walk in on, anyway?"

"N-nothing!" Twilight said, "It's…it's nothing important!"

"W-what she said," Spike said, starting to very slowly move towards the door, "I've…uh…got to go…go brush my scales!"

"Your…scales…" Corey blinked, trying to process that information.

"Y-yeah! Good idea, Spike!" Twilight said awkwardly, clearly knowing that excuse came out of thin air. By now, Corey was really starting to sense something was up.

_Twilight's been acting weird…and now Spike seems to be, too…_ Corey thought.

"Did I miss something?" Corey asked. By now, Spike had left the room, leaving it as just the two of them.

"N-no," Twilight cast another look behind her towards the letter she was reading, "It's just…something…"

"Something…that...?" Corey took a couple of steps forward.

"It's something you shouldn't worry about!" Twilight said, "Sh-shouldn't you be more worried about…about…learning your magic?'

Corey paused; it was only for a second.

"I should be—" Corey couldn't finish his statement.

"S-so, let's just start worrying about that, then!" Twilight said. Seeing that arguing the point any further would be pointless, Corey relented, and could only nod, feeling both annoyed and concerned.

_I should be, but I don't like seeing you like this…_ Corey thought.

* * *

A short while later, Corey sat at the same desk he'd used during previous lessons, Twilight sitting across from him. She was going a slightly different book now; a basic reference guide for unicorns learning the basics.

"Alright, now that you've learned how to project your cutie mark," Twilight said, "I'm going to teach you another basic spell."

Corey leaned back in his chair, and gave nothing more than a nod.

"That spell is something you've probably seen me doing already, as well as a few other unicorns," Twilight continued, her horn alight as she shut the book and lifted it into the air, the book cloaked in an aura of the same color, "Levitation; a spell known to pretty much any unicorn, is one that allows a pony to move an object with their magic instead of their hands."

Corey tried not to show disinterest. He knew at least this much.

"It can allow a magic user to perform several tasks at once," Twilight continued, lowering the book back into her hands, "Once they get more comfortable with it, of course. But for now, we're only interested in applying it to something small…hmm…"

Twilight looked around, seemingly wondering what she could give Corey to use as a test. Corey watched her, thinking about what he was about to do.

_So I'm actually going to start learning this…_ Corey thought, _I'm feeling a little…anxious, that's it._

Twilight eventually looked directly behind her; and seemingly saw something. With a smile, she opened one of her wings.

"This'll work…" With her right hand, she reached into her left wing, and gently removed one of the feathers there. She set the purple feather down on the desk between them, Corey eyeing the feather.

"Now," Twilight said, "Magic is an extension of will; this spell is exactly like that. Simply put, you imagine the object moving with nothing but your mind, and if you're casting the spell correctly, it will follow your will."

"So…" Corey began to think aloud, "I just have to be aware of the fact the energy exists, and work from there…"

Corey closed his eyes as if he were trying to project his cutie mark, but instead of focusing on his hands, he tried to focus his mind entirely on two things: the feather, and how his magic could help him move it without touching it.

_After talking to John yesterday I took some time to practice projecting my mark some more, _Corey noted, _I think that should make it easier…_

* * *

Twilight watched Corey and the feather carefully, taking notes on what was going on: his technique in dealing with the spell; understanding how his magic was flowing, if at all; the general picture. Corey sat completely still; head bowed, eyes closed, mouth tightly shut. At one point, he cracked one eye; seeing nothing, his brow twitched as he re-closed that one eye.

"Just focus your attention on what your magic can do about the feather…" Twilight said calmly, "Don't get impatient. Not everypony can get it on their first try…"

Corey didn't respond, too focused on the task at hand. For several seconds nothing happened. Then, Twilight heard a faint sound, like a kernel of popcorn popping. As soon as she heard that, Twilight's eyes saw the sight of Corey's horn giving off a small spark—green in color. Another pop, another spark. For barely a second, Corey's horn lit up in a green aura, but just as quickly, it fizzled out, with Corey gasping slightly as his magic backfired. One of his hands went to the base of his horn, and he winced.

"What the…" Corey said.

"That's normal," Twilight reassured him, "Some first-time magic users experience backlash. It's a force that you're starting to learn to control. Don't rush…"

The sentence faded off into the abyss. Corey's eyes were closed once again, his face already bunched up in concentration, one brow slightly lowered than the other.

"It…" Twilight finished with a sigh. She looked again, resting one hand to her chin, leaning on the desk.

_It's almost unbelievable, I mean, really…_ Twilight thought to herself, _Up until yesterday, he wasn't even convinced he could really pull it off, but tried anyway. Now look at him. He's already trying again…_

Another "pop"; Corey flinched, rubbing his forehead again with a sharp grunt as he looked at the feather.

"Did it move…" he flatly mumbled, looking at it.

Twilight looked to the feather on the desk.

"No," Twilight said, "It's okay, though. But maybe you should…"

Corey sat back in his chair, arms folded over his body, glaring at the feather. Just a few moments later, Corey was back at it for a third time, both eyebrows down, eyes closed, teeth grit.

_Don't get so impatient with it…_ Twilight thought to herself, now just unsure as she watched him try again.

* * *

Outside the library window, two winged figures hid behind a rather conveniently planted bush. Both watched Corey's attempt just as Twilight did, with great interest.

"Awesome," Rainbow commented, "He just started."

"Seriously?" John asked, crouching down next to her so as not to be seen, "You brought us all the way here just to watch Corey's magic lesson? I thought you said we were going to do something fun…"

"Something like that," Rainbow answered, staring through the window. John watched her with confusion, but dug into his pocket anyway to pull out the parchment he was told to hold on to.

"Then why did we need these—" John tried to get the question out.

"Score cards," Rainbow already knew where he was going with that. Only now did the gears start turning in John's head, and within moments, a small smirk split the lower half of his face. Rainbow turned to him, "Get it now?"

"Hand me a marker," John said.

Now both pegasus and dragon were watching as Corey attempted to levitate the feather in front of him.

"You know," John began, turning his head to look at Rainbow, "This is kind of illegal where I'm from."

"Here too," Rainbow said, "But only in _private_ homes."

"And this is a _public_ library," John summed up.

"Bingo!" Rainbow snapped her fingers.

* * *

All of Corey's attention was on the task he was assigned, every last bit of his senses focused on the horn on his head.

_I have gathered magic once…_ Corey thought to himself, remembering the backlash that followed, _I just have to hold it, just like before._

Thinking back to when he was projecting his cutie mark, after each successful attempt, he began to grasp the feel of the magic flowing within him. It was there; he could feel it.

_Just like last time, feel the magic flowing through me…_ Another deep breath, Corey felt the flow once again; faint, but there.

_Good, now focus it towards my horn…_ The flow began to move again, upwards towards his head. The magic began to flow slightly outwards from there, going towards a single point. His eyes closed in deep concentration, Corey did not notice when a magical green hue began to gather at the tip of his horn.

However, across from him, Twilight leaned forward just a little, seeing the aura beginning to form.

_It's…a lot more stable this time…_ Twilight thought.

In mere seconds, the hue grew larger, slowly engulfing the rest of Corey's horn.

"Perfect," Twilight spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper, "Now for the tricky part, carefully focus your magic towards the feather…"

Corey creaked open his eyes. The feather wasn't glowing yet. However, with that bit of information, he now knew what he was supposed to do.

_Tricky is right…_ Corey thought, _Even though it's not much, I think it's all I can do just to get this far along. I can't close my eyes like before…I have to focus on the feather._

Another deep breath later, Corey tried to focus on moving his magic outside of his body, like a third hand reaching out of his horn. Time passed as he tried to will his magic on to the feather. Seconds stretched to minutes, and those minutes began to multiply at a steady rate, as Corey continued to try to will himself to do this.

Eventually, however, something happened. It was faint, but something began to change on the feather—almost like it was glowing.

The glow began to grow stronger, a green hue becoming visible.

_Now for the moment of truth…_ Corey thought, looking at what he'd managed to do so far. He could feel the very slight weight. Only, it didn't seem so slight; magic was a muscle he hadn't properly trained. Keeping all his focus on what he'd done so far, Corey began to turn his will into one single word.

_Up..._

And within several seconds, it did. Slowly, but surely, the feather began to move vertically: up one inch, then two, and slowly rose to a third. But, after the third inch, the feather stopped moving, statically moving, like something had grabbed the so-called third hand by the wrist and held it there.

Corey stared at the feather, disappointed. However, this only lasted for a couple of seconds; he soon refocused once again.

_C'mon…move,_ Corey urged his magic to keep following his will. But nothing happened. He continued on like this for what felt like forever, and as time continued to pass, Corey grew more and more annoyed. More of his magic began to leak into his spell, Corey trying to force the feather to keep moving. The feather began to glow brighter, but it didn't move, instead quaking in place in mid-air.

_Come on, __**move!**_Corey thought to himself as he grit his teeth.

Twilight could see Corey's impatience growing the whole while. She knew full well how tricky magic could be, and knew Corey's technique was beginning to falter.

"Careful, Corey," Twilight advised, "If you force it too much, it might—"

Twilight was cut off by a flash coming from the discarded feather. The next thing she saw, the feather was glowing orange and red, engulfed in fire. Corey lost his focus the moment the feather lit up, his magic dissipating allowing it to fall back on the table. It burned out quickly and the fire died out on its own. A small scorch mark on the surface of the table was all that remained.

"Do…that…?" Corey groaned, placing his hand on the table.

"You got a little angry, didn't you?" Twilight asked.

Corey nodded, not saying anything else.

"Magic can be influenced by a lot of things," Twilight said, "And emotion is one of them. I know it can be frustrating, but trust me, you'll get better at this in time."

Corey didn't appear convinced, leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes.

"Hey, don't get down on yourself," Twilight said, "You still managed to lift the feather off of the table, that's still something."

"Took longer than when I projected my cutie mark though…" Corey responded, closing his eyes.

"Did it?" asked Twilight, "I seem to recall it taking several attempts before you could do that. But today, you managed a new spell on the first day."

Corey looked up to see Twilight smiling back to him.

"Does that sound like taking longer to you?" she asked again. Corey paused, unsure.

_What she's saying,_ Corey thought, _It's true. It took a couple days before I could project my mark. But then, I was able to cast my first real spell on the first day I learned about it. _

"Maybe…" Corey started, shifting a bit, "Maybe I am getting better at this…" he looked towards Twilight again, dodging eye contact yet again, "You know what, I'm gonna try again."

"That's the spirit," Twilight cheered, "Let me get you—"

_**Tap. Tap. Tap.**_

The noise got both Corey and Twilight's attention; it wasn't too long before they saw what was causing it. Outside the window, standing up, was John and Rainbow looking back at them, popping out of a bush?

"What are they…" Corey started, but it wasn't long before the two figures outside the window moved.

Rainbow raised her arms above her head, revealing she was holding something: a square piece of parchment with a large number "_3_" in black marker ink on it. Corey looked at the number in confusion. A few seconds later, John raised his hands as well to reveal a second piece of parchment, identical to Rainbow's except for one thing.

"Two…" Corey squinted; the two had a slightly smaller dot and a five next to it, "Point...five…?" Only now did it occur to him what he was looking at, "A-are they…scoring me…?"

Corey didn't really feel too insulted so much as annoyed by all that once he realized what Rainbow and John were doing. He wasn't going to give them the benefit of a reaction, though. He removed his glasses…

And saw, in the slight reflection the lenses provided, a lavender flash from behind him.

"Twilight…?" Corey asked, looking behind him. She wasn't there. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the same flash…and the bush that Rainbow and John had hidden behind was uprooted entirely in one clean motion.

Rainbow and John both froze. Corey wiped at his glasses with one arm before putting them back on, and he saw Twilight staring down at them with her arms crossed. There was a long pause.

John eventually moved, looking down at the parchment he was holding…writing?

As soon as he was done, he raised it again and placed it on the glass of the window.

_I regret nothing._

* * *

_Day 6_

_I guess I shouldn't get so down on myself when things go against me in training, but I can't help it. This is the kind of stuff that I've always wanted to and couldn't back home. And now that the mark on my back is so unique I can't even do anything with it, I'm going to just keep going at what I am. I have no idea what that even means for me, though._

_Can't believe she reacted to them doing that, though._

_Still, even in the midst of lessons, I can't forget what happened this morning. What's going on here? _

_-Corey_

* * *

_Day 7_

_I'm able to hold the feather aloft for quite a bit now. Twilight doesn't seem to be getting any better. In fact, whatever she's worried about, I'm convinced she's lost sleep. I'm actually on break while she went out into town. She acted strangely when a letter from Princess Celestia came in earlier too. Not too long afterward, Spike and her left, saying they needed to go into town to get some things. What, I can't think of, they already did that a few days ago…_

_Still, I guess it couldn't hurt to try to perform levitation on the quill. And try to write that way…_

_Then again, I did just set a feather on fire from trying too hard. Don't want to lose this quill if I can help it._

* * *

_I'm convinced Twilight's got something that she's really worried about now. What, I have no clue. I haven't seen any signs that something…like that is going on. The day and night cycles normally still, and nothing seems out of place. Yet, she's stressing out over something. And the more she tells me not to, the more concerned I get._

_It's not any of my business, I keep hearing that over and over again. But I'd feel bad if she flipped out completely over it if I could have tried to talk her down if I knew what was going on._

_I can't focus on this forever, though. Tomorrow I'm going to keep practicing levitation._

'_Til next time,_

-_Corey_

* * *

**_Here is where I leave off for another week. Pretty much all I'm gonna say on that._**


	15. Act 2 Chapter 5

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 5: Crashing Down**

* * *

For the past few days, Corey had fallen into a routine. Every morning after breakfast he and Twilight would retreat to a lone room in the library. Once settled in, Twilight would supervise Corey as he went through his lesson. On occasion, she would give him verbal guidance.

At the moment, Corey was focused on the lesson that he had been working at for the past three days: the quill levitating in front of him, his horn and the quill both cloaked in a green light. Corey watched the quill move slowly left and right; guided by his will and nothing else.

_I've gotten better over the past few days, _Corey thought, _I can mostly think about other things now while doing this._

He took a quick glance over to Twilight. Normally, she'd be watching his progress closely with great interest. And while she seemed just as interested in making sure he could learn how to be a unicorn, there was something off. She was looking at him, sure, there was no denying that.

_It's almost like she's looking a million miles past me,_ Corey noted her ghostly stare, _And I'm not an idiot; I can tell she hasn't been sleeping as well._

That wasn't the only thing that was off; there were bags under her eyes, and dark circles that showed under her fur. Her mane, which was usually well kept, had become frizzy against her best attempts to hide it. Corey tried to return his attention to the task at hand, but found himself unable to banish his worry.

_She's getting worse, _thought Corey, _I know she's not good at hiding things, and worse at dealing with stress. And, if I didn't know better, I'd say it was tearing her apart…_

_**How much longer are you planning on waiting?**_ An inner voice asked him.

_I've already asked her what's wrong,_ Corey thought, _And she won't tell me a thing. What else can I do?_

_**If she won't tell you, then press the issue. Make her want to tell you.**_

_You of all people should know me better than that, _Corey argued back, starting to feel annoyed now. The quill briefly teetered in response, but it wasn't anything Corey couldn't handle right now.

_**I'm telling you this **_**because**_** I know you better.**_

The inner voice went silent after that, leaving Corey alone in his thoughts. He took another look to Twilight. Her eyes looked heavy, and she looked like she was trying not to fall asleep. It was easily the worst off she'd been since she started acting so strangely. As he continued to look into her direction, Corey couldn't help but shake a feeling of déjà vu. Eventually, Corey managed to figure out what it was.

_It's just like on that day…_

Corey closed his eyes, cancelling the spell with the quill falling point-first to the table, causing a highly audible _tack_ sound against the silence; enough to catch Twilight's attention.

She shook her head, looking up at Corey to see him looking back at her.

"O-oh," she said, trying to figure out what had happened, lost entirely in her own thoughts. Eventually, she saw what had made the noise, looking down to see the quill on the table. Looking back to Corey, she asked, "Did you lose focus again?"

"N-no," Corey looked away slightly, "I, um, I put it down on my own."

"Oh," Twilight smiled, but Corey could see the hints of it being forced; it just wasn't _her_ smile, "Well, that's great! You've made fast progress on summoning your magic," She rose from her seat, "Now that you're getting a hang of it, we can—"

Twilight was cut off by a yawn, which Corey knew was a byproduct of missing one too many hours of sleep.

"S-sorry about that," Twilight said as she recovered, "Guess I'm still a little sleepy. How about we take a little break, maybe have some coffee?"

Corey didn't even get a chance to give an answer before Twilight turned on her heel and began to walk, very slowly towards the door. He didn't even have one. All that was on his mind now was how this situation reminded him of a day not too long ago, one that he couldn't forget no matter what.

The day when a pony needed a shoulder to lean on, and the day another pony provided it.

"T…" Corey stuttered, forcing himself to keep speaking, "Twilight?"

Twilight stopped, turning around. Time seemed to slow down for Corey as she did, his only thoughts on what he was about to do. Or try to do.

_I know this isn't my strongest suit, _Corey thought, _But I'll be damned if I don't try._

"Yeah?" asked Twilight after turning to face him.

_Now or never…_

"W-why won't you tell me what's been bothering you?" Corey asked, noting the change in Twilight's expression when he got the question out. It was something he'd already seen before, something he'd seen over the past few days. Twilight had put on her mask, the one that said "everything's fine". It was a convincing mask, certainly enough to throw Corey off for a time, but after so long and after her decline as of late, he'd learned to see through it.

"C-Corey, I told you," Twilight stuttered, "There's nothing—"

"Before you say it," Corey cut her off, "I want to say something first."

_I learned to code in Java. I can do Calculus II with enough prep time. I'm learning, slowly but surely, to control my magic, but somehow, this is harder still, _was something Corey added mentally.

"I-I still remember the day I learned I'd be stuck here in Equestria for my entire life. It…it almost broke me. The idea of knowing my whole life had just changed permanently in an instant. I…I wasn't able to hide the f-fact I was scared."

Corey stopped as he looked up to Twilight. It took every ounce of self-control he had, but he'd managed to take one step forward.

"I…I can't keep a lid on my troubles. Not like you have been."

Corey wasn't sure if it was a good thing that Twilight looked taken aback by this, but there was no turning back now. Twilight, for her part, didn't know why she was taken aback. Maybe it was the fact he'd finally caught on that something was happening, or maybe it was what he was saying. She couldn't tell.

"W-what I'm trying to say is," Corey continued, once again doing the thing where he missed her eyes, but it was…different, somehow. Almost like he was trying to find them and couldn't, "When I needed it, you provided a shoulder for me to lean on. All I'm asking is that you let me do the same."

The room fell completely silent after that. Twilight's jaw had slacked a bit. She stared at Corey for a few moments. Eventually, she bit her bottom lip, and turned her head away.

"Corey, I…" She sighed, "I'm…not sure if you could handle knowing—"

At this point, a hand came down on her shoulder. She looked up, seeing Corey was the one who had placed his palm on it. There was a smile on his face, one that was reassuring.

"Let me worry about that," Corey said.

Now, things were different. As she stared into Corey's face; his smile, for the first time since hearing the news, for the first time since those updates starting coming in, Twilight felt herself calm down. Maybe, she could trust him, the unicorn standing before her. If she did tell him, maybe it'd be okay.

Twilight closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, preparing herself for what was to come. That whole thing had been so much information to take in. Eventually, she looked to him again, and began to speak.

"A few days ago—"

"Twilight!"

The sudden shout got both of their attentions. Corey and Twilight looked towards the entrance to the next room to see Rainbow standing there, panting. She had one hand to the frame of the door. In the other, she was holding something.

_John's sweater…_ Corey thought to himself, his eyes going wide as he realized what the cloth was.

_Oh no…_ Twilight thought to herself as she took a few steps towards Rainbow.

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

It didn't take long for Rainbow to catch her breath. She gave a very simple answer:

"We've got trouble."

* * *

A few minutes before, Rainbow Dash had taken John back up to that cliff where she'd started teaching him how to fly. Along the way, she had taken it upon herself to put special emphasis on her past achievements. Of course, it was just to keep the two of them entertained.

"And at the last second," Rainbow said, "Just before they hit the ground, I swooped over and grabbed all of them and flew them back up to the stadium!" It was the story of how she'd won the Best Young Fliers Competition several months ago, by saving several ponies' lives in one supersonic swoop.

"So yeah, not only did I save all of them and won the competition, but I can also use the Sonic Rainboom whenever I want."

Of course, John knew the story very well already, but he listened nonetheless. However, once Rainbow finished, all John could think of was one single question, one that made its way to his tongue.

"What's it feel like?" he asked.

"What's what feel like?" Rainbow asked, turning slightly too him.

"Going that fast," John clarified, "What does it feel like?"

Rainbow looked up past the tree line and to the sky, a smile spreading across her lips.

"Calling it awesome wouldn't do it justice," Rainbow began, "When I'm going that fast, the wind flowing through my mane and the world around me becoming a blur, I can feel a rush. And I don't mean like a shot of adrenaline. No, this feels a whole lot better than that. When I'm at those speeds, I feel…alive."

John was speechless. Up until now, all he'd heard from her was light-hearted, laid-back monologues about how amazing she was, among other things. Well, except for one occasion that John remembered very well. This was the second time John had ever seen Rainbow acting so…deep.

_Flying means a lot more to her than I thought,_ John thought.

"While we're on the subject," said Rainbow, "You've gotten faster over the last few days, which is good. It means we can move on to the next step up in your flying lessons. This is gonna be your last jump?"

The two had finally reached the cliff's edge.

"So, this is like a test then?" John asked, unzipping his sweater.

"Exactly," Rainbow responded, "But this time you're gonna be timed."

"How long do I got?" John questioned.

"Ten seconds," John expected the word "flat" to follow, but even though it didn't, he still let out a small chuckle.

_Still saw it coming, _John thought. He walked over to the edge and passed Rainbow his sweater. Putting on his best confident smirk, John turned to Rainbow and uttered two words.

"Don't blink," he said, just before leaping over the cliff edge. Rainbow watched him fall with an arched brow and a small smirk on her face.

As John fell, he could only smile. The fear of falling from that high up had completely vanished a while ago. The time he walked away from that nasty, should-have-been-fatal fall contributed quite a bit to that feeling.

_Ten seconds, starting now!_ John thought, opening his wings and catching the updraft. He slowed down, but not by much. He continued to go down at a fast speed, but a speed well under his control. As he fell, he looked around him, he started to wonder one single thing.

_How much am I gonna be able to see higher up? If I could fly higher…_ John continued to look around, _Right now, though, I'll just settle for this._

Suddenly, something caught John's eye—from the corner of his vision. He couldn't make out what exactly it was, but it was enough of a glimpse for him to pause mentally.

"Huh?" John grunted, looking over to his right where he'd caught that glimpse. Not too far over in an opening in the trees, John saw something moving. Several somethings, to be correct. It was hard to tell from the distance, but he could tell they were walking on two legs. "What the…"

Rainbow watched as John changed the angle of his wings, causing him to very quickly slow to a complete halt. John remained suspended in the air.

_What's going on? _Rainbow asked herself, looking over to where he was looking, unable to see anything from her angle, _What's he looking at?_

Curious, Rainbow jumped over the edge and flew down to him.

"What's up?" Rainbow asked.

"Over there," John said, pointing over to where he had been looking at. Rainbow followed his claw until she found what he was pointing towards. Seeing the bipedal…things, whatever they were, caused her to put up a confused expression.

"Know what they are?" John asked of her.

"Not a clue," said Rainbow as she shook her head. The two of them watched as the strange creatures moved, but only for a few seconds before John gave a shout.

"They're heading towards town!" John's eyes widened from the realization. Rainbow did a double take on the movements of the strange creatures.

"You're right!" Rainbow said, "If they keep going, they'll…"

Rainbow halted, her mind rapidly racing back to the meeting she'd had over at the library with her friends and Celestia. She knew they had been warned to keep an eye out for anything strange.

_I'd say this is pretty strange... _Rainbow said as the realization finally came full circle, _I know she said not to handle this stuff alone. But, should I really tell the others about—_

Rainbow quickly realized she was short one adult dragon on her left; John had just dropped from the sky, picking up speed. Before he got too low, he opened his wings again and began to glide forward with the momentum. Quickly, Rainbow followed.

_Looks like he answered that for me,_ Rainbow thought.

In no time, Rainbow and John were both over the creatures. Even now, at this distance, Rainbow couldn't make head or tail of these things. They looked like plain sculptures. As they were currently above them, the creatures, whatever they were, did not pause for an instant. They kept right on course.

Clearly, John wasn't alright with that. John's wings shut, allowing him to drop to the ground quickly. In a matter of seconds, John made contact with the ground, which cracked and even cratered in the ground, sending up rocks and dust. The creatures paused, turning to John.

Rainbow landed next to John not too long afterward. And now that she was face-to-face with the creatures, she realized she had absolutely no idea what she was looking at. John didn't seem to be able to figure out what they were either.

Each of the creatures looked virtually identical. They were all the shape of the ponies from this Equestria; or at least, the same size. They were naked, featureless creatures, not unlike the manikins that littered the Carousel Boutique. But the strangest, most chilling part of these creatures was the hollow eyes, filled with a red light, in addition to the strange red markings that went down the creatures' limbs, which glowed far less aggressively. All of them stared quietly back at the two.

"Five…six…seven," John observed, counting the number of creatures, "So, where are you folks heading?"

The manikins didn't answer, not that they could. They all stood there, their stances strangely…cautious. But despite the fact the manikins hadn't so much as moved, there was still an air of uneasiness. And Rainbow couldn't help but feel something was amiss with the way they were—

"Rainbow, you need to get out of here," John spoke up.

Rainbow looked to him, ready to demand why she should, but at that moment, the creatures all began to glow brighter. Their bodies jerked. The next moment, one charged straight at the two. Or at least, that's what it looked like at first. But the moment Rainbow caught sight of the creature's soulless eyes, something clicked in her head.

_It's coming straight for me!_ Rainbow realized, but before she could form an appropriate response, someone else had already reacted; John had put himself between them, his wings outstretched by some instinct. The moment the creature had gotten close enough, he lunged forward, ramming his shoulder into the creature's torso.

The hit succeeded in throwing the creature back towards its twins. It lay unmoving for a few seconds. At first, both Rainbow and John had thought that was it for that one. But, all at once, the manikin stood up again, a visible crack on its chest.

"Goddess, what are they made of?" asked Rainbow. John didn't answer, his mind too preoccupied with something else.

_It completely ignored me and went after her,_ John thought, _What's going on here? I guess I'll find out later. Rainbow Dash is the Element of Loyalty, and she's clearly a target. There's no way it's a coincidence!_

"Rainbow," John said, taking a step forward, "Go get help."

Rainbow looked at him, feeling somewhere between insulted and concerned. Insulted that he told her to go get help, and concerned that he was even offering to go it alone.

"No way!" Rainbow shouted, "If they want a fight I say we give it to them!"

John paused. He expected this kind of answer, knowing full well her ego wouldn't allow her to run away from this. But, he wasn't about to let that stop him.

"Rainbow, I know you're tough, and I know you're fast," said John, "And I also know that you're smart. One of them took a hit from me and got up with only a crack. And there are six more in this group," he turned his head to look back at her and asked a single question, "What do you think are our chances?"

Rainbow wanted to answer, completely assured they could still win. But she still knew John was right. John was stronger than she was and it looked as though even he might have trouble fighting them off.

"But how long do you expect to last if I leave you alone with them?" she asked of him.

"C'mon, you're the fastest pony in Equestria," John chuckled, "I'm sure you'll be back before I have time to break a sweat."

John took a few more steps forward. Rainbow found herself rising into the air, still debating on what she should do.

"You sure you can handle them 'til then?" she asked.

"Trust me, I've been in plenty of fights before," John assured her, giving her a thumbs up. Rainbow looked to John again. He looked sure that he could do this. And, he was a dragon after all; one that had previous battle experience.

_Of course, _John thought, _all those fights required a controller, but she doesn't need to know that._

"I'll be back soon," she said, "Just don't get hurt!"

Rainbow took off in a rainbow blur towards Ponyville, leaving John to the group of seven. Their gazes followed Rainbow until she was out of sight. Their bodies glowed once again, and their heads turned towards the dragon.

"Looks like you get it," John said, "If you want to get to her, you'll have to go through me!"

* * *

There was a heavy silence in the library as Rainbow finished recounting her tale on the trouble. Corey and Twilight had both given her their full attention. Twilight glanced over to Corey. She hadn't intended on letting him know every last detail she knew about the situation with Tartarus, but as she heard that John had seen the end result of something she hadn't heard of, something in her mind clicked.

_Corey and John are going to wind up getting dragged into this,_ Twilight thought to herself, _In spite of how much I worried about not letting them know. They don't deserve to—wait a second._

At that moment, something that hadn't quite occurred to Twilight clicked in her head. John had been left to himself against strange manikins, ones that were quite durable. Even if he had asked to be left to himself…

"And you just _left him there_?!" Twilight shouted.

"He said he could handle himself," Rainbow said, "Said he'd been in plenty of fights before…"

_In Mortal Kombat, maybe,_ Corey thought to himself, finding himself at odds with not only John's supplied fighting history, but the fact that there were strange manikins running around, _Still, those creatures' attacking…is that the reason Twilight was worrying?_

Corey closed his eyes, taking a deep breath through his nose. Nothing about what was going on was appealing. There were very tough manikins out there. John was engaging them, and soon so would Twilight and her friends. While he was sure they could handle themselves, a single thought ran through Corey's mind.

_Why don't I feel right just sitting here?_

"We have to go get the others," Twilight finally said, "C'mon, we've gotta get going!"

"Way ahead of you," said Rainbow, already making her way toward the door, Twilight moving that way as well.

The word worked its way out of his mouth before he was even aware he was saying it.

"Wait!"

Twilight halted in the doorway, Rainbow a bit further ahead of her. She turned back to Corey, not quite understanding why he was suddenly standing up so tall straight away.

"Corey," Twilight responded, "I'll explain everything later, I promise, but right now we—"

"I know," Corey responded, "We've got to go help John."

Twilight looked at Corey, still not quite understanding what it was he was doing. That is, until he started walking towards her.

_Wait, he wants to-?! _

"I'm sorry," Twilight said, "I don't think you should come with us. Not to this."

Corey stopped mid-step, "And why not?"

"I don't think you're ready for—for something like this," Twilight said.

"But John's out there," Corey continued, "I can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"Twilight!" Rainbow shouted from what could have easily been the front door, "We need to get going!"

"I'll be along in just a second, Rainbow!" Twilight shouted back, before turning back to Corey, "I know he's your friend, and I know that you don't know what's going on and want to, but I can't ask you to come along. You've just barely started learning magic and…and…"

Corey sighed, "And I haven't ever done something like…like whatever it is you're about to do, right?"

"Yes," Twilight said, "So please, just…just sit tight here. We should be able to handle this on our own. I know it's not something you're comfortable with right now."

Corey's shoulders slumped, and he released a second sigh. It was clear she wouldn't let him go, and it wasn't like he could follow them where they were going, either.

"Alright…" Corey said, "I'll stay here. You know what's going on better than I do, anyway…"

"I wish I could say that," Twilight said, turning her back to him, "But—"

"Twilight!" Rainbow called up again.

"I'm coming!" Twilight shouted back, already heading out the door, "Spike, I'm going to need you to watch after the library while I'm out!"

"Why," Spike called out, from where, Corey didn't know offhand, "What's going on?"

"Something just came up! I'll explain it later!" Twilight said in a rush, "John's in trouble right now!"

"Wait, what-!"

The next thing Corey heard was the door slamming. He gazed out the nearest window, and could just make out the two retreating forms below as Rainbow and Twilight, going to retrieve their friends. From there, they'd be able to help John out with whatever those creatures were.

"Do you know anything about what's going on?"

Corey turned to see Spike standing in the doorway, looking just a little annoyed about being left behind without a proper explanation. Corey shrugged, looking back out the window.

"Sadly, I don't," Corey said, "Partly because I didn't even know something was wrong up until now."

"And why didn't you go with them?" Spike asked.

Corey sighed, continuing to look out the window.

_Because against what John is—a durable, strong adult dragon—and what they are—strong girls in their own right—as I am now, I don't even hope to compare to them…_

At once, Corey realized he was clenching his fists. With yet another deep breath, he relaxed his fists.

"Because right now, I'd be in the way…"

* * *

_**And so we finally get into some action here. So yeah...just uh, get ready for things to very slowly get heavier.**_


	16. Act 2 Chapter 6

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 6: Simple Differences**

* * *

When John sent Rainbow back to Ponyville, he did so with a plan in mind: while she gathered the others and lead them back to the site of the battle, he'd take care of as many of the strange creatures as he could. It seemed like a relatively simple plan. He'd already cracked one of them before. It stood to reason that he'd be able to break them with a clean enough hit.

_I guess not everything goes as planned,_ John thought to himself, assessing his situation, _I think I may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew._

The strange creatures' movements were too random for him to keep up with. He'd take a swing at them only for them to dodge it. And he was outnumbered seven to one on top of it all. John watched as the creatures now moved around him in a circle. Their soulless eyes never once looked away from him.

_Wait it out, John, _he thought to himself, _Let them come to you. Charging them isn't going to work._

Soon, one did in fact charge him, the one who was directly in front of him, to be exact. He was ready for this one, pulling one fist back, ready to strike. But before he could make his move, he felt something grab hold of him. Looking to his side he saw a second creature had snuck up on him the moment his attention turned towards the first one.

He knew right away what it was trying to do; lock his arm so that he couldn't use it in the fight.

"Nice try," John said, "But I still have my—"

Before he could finish, two more creatures had tackled him head-on. Normally, he'd keep his balance, but that wasn't an option this time; something attacked the back of his legs to be exact. The surprisingly coordinated attack was enough to cause John to slip off of his feet, falling. However, he never hit the ground. Instead, the creatures behind him caught him and tossed him into a nearby tree. His back hit the bark hard, causing the tree to vibrate, the bark to crack, and him to grunt.

"Dammit!" John growled to himself, annoyed, _No matter what I do, I'm still at a disadvantage! _

He didn't have forever to sulk about this; looking up, he saw his opponents were on the attack again. He rolled away the moment one of the creatures attacked. Its fist hit the bark of the tree, causing it to rattle slightly.

Recovering, John dug his claws into the ground and launched towards the creature that had attacked him. But the others weren't too far behind; three of them successfully rammed into his side and caused all four to once again roll across the ground. John tried what he could to reach out for one of them, but they were too fast for him; all quickly jumping away from him.

John skid to a halt after a few more moments, quickly standing up again. He was growing more and more agitated; the reason why he was starting to breathe so heavily. He looked back up at the creatures that stood in front of him.

_One…two…three…four…six…_ John counted, trying to get his bearings, _Wait, six!?_

John realized one of the creatures was missing. He tried to look around for where the seventh might be. He couldn't spot it no matter where he looked, but his instincts took hold of him and told him to look up. In a moment, he understood why; the next thing he saw was the seventh creature coming down on him for another attack!

Quickly, John jumped back, out of the creature's path; less than a second later, it crashed to the ground, cratering it slightly.

"Close one…" grumbled John as he swiped the back of his hand under his chin. But he didn't give himself too long to think about that, knowing how nimble the creatures were. He decided to try to emulate their quick response times; leaning forward, John started to run right for the creature that had attacked him.

_With any luck, I can attack it before it can move!_

This hope was soon dashed. The creature was already prepared for his rush; with two hands full of dirt grasped in its hands, the creature threw it into John's eyes, effectively blinding him. John immediately slammed both his palms over his eyes as they began to sting, coming to a full stop mid-step.

"Son of a-!" John cried out in anger, trying to wipe the dirt from his eyes.

In this moment, the creatures made their move. All seven rushed in at the same time, all tackling him at once. With their combined weight, they managed to force the dragon down, and began pummeling him. They made sure to keep him off balance, preventing any chance of him getting back up. However, there was just one thing they failed to take into account.

"You guys…" John growled, eyes shooting open, pupils going from dots to slits, "Are really starting to piss me off!"

With all of his might, John forced all the creatures off of him, unleashing a bloodcurdling roar that echoed all around. The creatures all went flying from his strength, some rolling across the ground. One found that its luck had run out; it had been sent straight up.

Its friends could not reach it quick enough; the airborne creature could only fall helplessly when gravity asserted itself. And as it fell, something much worse than the cold hard ground was waiting for it. John stood there, looking up, watching the creature fall, his fist pulled back in anticipation, waiting for the right moment like a predator stalking its prey. Only when creature and dragon were face-to-face did John finally strike.

His fist made contact with the creature's head, instantly cracking it on impact. But he wasn't satisfied with just that; he dug deeper into the punch, shifting more of his weight into it. The creature's head could take no more, caving in and shattering under the force of John's punch. When the head had been crushed, the creature's body hit the ground, the red glow on its body fading away. John stared down at the limp body, making sure this time it wouldn't get up.

"Now then," said John as he turned towards the others, "Who's next?"

The creatures gave no response, not that John expected one. John began to walk forward, unsure why he was going so slowly. The creatures backed away at first, unsure of what to do now that one of their ranks had been demolished. But one was brave enough to try, charging forward without its friends following it. John stopped walking at that moment, watching as it came closer.

"Guess it's you," John said flatly, his voice and body showing no inclination to move from where he was standing. Not even when it was right in front of him, ready to strike; John didn't even try to defend himself. However, that was because he knew he didn't have to.

In that moment, just before it made contact, something struck the creature from its side. It was a bright, magenta, glowing object, and it left a sizable hole in the creature.

The creature fell straight to the ground, skidding to a halt only inches away from the dragon it intended on attacking. The other creatures turned their heads towards the source of the attack. Even John turned ot see it, but he didn't have to find out what it was; he already knew.

"The calvary has arrived," John said with a small smirk. The calvary in question stood not too far away, all standing side-by-side.

The Mane Six, also known as the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony. Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty, was the first to take a step forward, the look on her face screaming that she was ready for a fight.

"Sorry we're late."

* * *

It hadn't been too long since Twilight and Rainbow left. When it came down to it, Spike supposed that it was probably something dangerous they'd gotten into; in short, nothing too new. However, what was new about the situation was that he had company that didn't consist of animals that sought to ruin his day.

It was a unicorn who was growing increasingly restless. And, in an attempt to relieve his restlessness, he was currently floating a glass ball-a paperweight-around, trying to do anything to get his mind off what was going on. Judging from the way the paperweight jittered in his magical grasp, it wasn't working.

_But hey, _Spike thought, watching him, _Better he did that with a paperweight and not an ink bottle._

Corey continued to float the paperweight, strain evident on his features. He knew from previous experience that at least Twilight and her friends could handle themselves in situations like what Rainbow described. Or at least, situations _like_ she described.

_There was nothing from the show about those things that Rainbow was telling us about, _Corey thought, _This isn't anything that's happened before. So what's going on here?_

The magical glow around the paperweight and Corey's horn dimmed. Briefly redirecting his attention to what he was doing, Corey quickly regained control of the paperweight, which once again jittered as his thoughts and emotions began to very quickly wander away from what he was doing.

_And on top of it all I don't even know what's going on out there. I still don't know what was getting Twilight so worked up in the first place!_ Corey thought.

All at once, the glow around Corey's horn and the paperweight dimmed, allowing the paperweight to fall. Noticing what had happened, and minding the sudden surge of pain from the base of his horn, Corey reached out awkwardly, bobbling the paperweight around in his hands before finally getting control of it. After that little bit of physical stress, Corey sighed.

"Maybe I shouldn't work with fragile objects while under this kind of stress," Corey mumbled to himself, reaching out to the nearby desk and setting it down.

Spike decided to quit watching Corey at this point, figuring there was nothing else to gain from simply watching him. He still had other stuff he needed to do, and Corey tended to keep mostly to himself anyway when left on his own. It wouldn't have been that much trouble to leave him in the room alone.

Corey sighed. He wanted to sit down right now, maybe with a book, but right now the last thing he could do was be still. He wanted to be able to practice magic while the others did whatever, but he was too worried to concentrate. He was quickly figuring out something really important.

_Waiting on something like this really does suck…_ Corey thought to himself, _And it's a lot worse than it is just watching from the outside since there's no convienient way to pass the time. Can't focus, can't sit still. I'm too worried._

Corey turned to one of the nearby bookshelves, not really seeing anything that looked really interesting on them. However, he needed to do something, anything, to take his mind away from what he was dealing with. For the life of him, Corey couldn't fathom how John possibly decided taking on seven unknown creatures by himself was a good move when he couldn't even speak without breathing fire not too long ago.

_Probably a show of gratitude if anything, but still—_

There was the sound of glass breaking, and Corey instinctively froze. He knew that wasn't the paperweight. And it was too close by to be anything anyone else could have dropped. He didn't even know what Spike was up to, but he knew it probably wasn't him to just break things unprovoked. Which left only one possibility.

_Somepony's broken in?!_ Corey thought, _I…I have to do something…_

Corey hesitated, slowly making his way towards the door, his feet making almost no noise against the wooden floor of the library despite the fact he was wearing shoes. He slowly made his way towards the source of the noise, not at all confident in his ability to ward off an attacker.

Corey made his way towards the stairs, looking around carefully to see if he could spot the intruder. His nerve was getting the better of him now, and he wasn't quite sure what he would actually do. His mane caught a slight breeze, and he turned.

The window over in the kitchen had been shattered, glass all over the floor and counter nearby.

_Something's broken __**in**__,_ Corey thought, _And since I don't see any blunt objects around, that means it did it under its own strength, whatever that was._

Suddenly, Corey heard a small, sharp grunt in the opposite direction. He turned, just in time to—very clumsily—catch a small body being thrown into him roughly. Corey stumbled backwards, off-balance, his eyes wide not from the fact he'd just caught a thrown Spike with his torso, not from the fall onto his rear end that resulted from that, but from what he just realized had gotten the drop on him.

It was about the size of a human…or a humanoid pony. It was featureless and clothless, save for the glowing markings on its body, just as Rainbow had described. Its hollow eyes glowed as well, looking directly at him. Corey felt shivers dance down his spine just from looking at it. Probably the most damaging evidence of all, though, was the fact the creature had been damaged. A crack down its chest, just like what Rainbow had said John had done to one.

_It's…one of the creatures…_ Corey stared at the creature like a deer staring straight into a pair of headlights, _How…how'd it get all the way over here?!_

Spike shouted something, but it didn't quite register over the sound of the blood pounding in his ears. Then again, neither did anything else. Everything seemed to slow down around Corey as the creature began to move towards them.

_What do I do? _Corey continued to fret, _I have not been in any real fights in my life. I have only just started to learn magic. And even though leaving me behind seemed like the best idea, now it's up to me to stop this thing, and I don't know what to do…_

"Snap out of it!" A purple clawed hand snapped right in front of his nose, accompanied by what sounded like a demon roaring. However, it registered to Corey that it was Spike talking to him.

Corey looked to Spike, and back again. Everything began to move at normal speed.

It all happened in a blur. Corey wasn't even sure when he'd stood up. He wasn't even aware that he'd moved. Next thing he knew, he was trying to get a good hard grasp on the creature's fist. His entire arm shook as he tried to hold back the force that the creature exerted. Corey's eyes were still wide with fear, sweat was trickling down his forehead; cool, moist, and there.

_When did I—_Corey didn't have time to think, spotting the thing swinging its other arm at him. Corey ducked underneath the second punch, the punch whizzing past his horn and through his mane.

"Corey!" Spike called out. Corey briefly looked back and to his right. Sure enough, there he was, looking at him. He was scared, there was no hiding it. Probably just as scared as he was, maybe a little less, but either way—

The manikin swung his fist back, catching Corey on the left cheek. The force of the hit caused Corey to stumble back several steps, holding his cheek as pain began to make itself known. His glasses askew from the hit, Corey began to tear up just a little from the pain and fear he was feeling at that moment. His eyes darted around the library as he tried to figure out what he should do.

_It's just me, Spike, and a library. We don't have that much of a chance…_ Corey thought, _Only one choice…_

Corey's first instinct was to take Spike and get out of there, but he ignored that as a memory that he'd momentarily forgotten about returned to him.

_John stayed behind because he probably thought Rainbow was a target,_ Corey continued, _And given Twilight has wings—_

"Damn it!" Corey swore, running forward towards the creature again as a realization dawned on him.

"What are you—" Spike started, unable to finish his sentence. Corey caught a knee to the stomach for his efforts, having the wind knocked out of him.

"Spike," Corey coughed, already slumping over. It was clear he was trying to keep on his feet, but he wasn't doing a very good job of it, his knees shaking, "Get help…"

"Wait, what?!" Spike asked, "Are you sure? I mean…"

"I don't think either of us can do this," Corey said, "And someone else had to have seen this thing wandering around!"

"But…" Spike protested.

"We don't have time for this!" Corey couldn't let Spike know that he knew what was in the library that the creature might want. The creature looked over to Spike, seemingly thinking that Corey wasn't a threat. Willing himself back to his feet, Corey rose to his feet, getting his arms underneath the creature's armpits, putting it into a full nelson.

The creature paused for a moment as it registered it was in his grip, but Corey soon found himself clinging to it for dear life, teeth grit, a vein on his temple pulsing, his arms already crying for mercy as the creature proved very strong.

"_**Just go!**_" Corey cried out, closing his eyes. He heard the sound of shuffling, very briefly, before his attention returned to the creature in front of him struggling to give chase.

"No, dammit," Corey groaned, trying to keep from being flipped over the thing's shoulders, "Why don't you focus on me, you little—agh!"

Ultimately, Corey's efforts failed, and he wound up flipped over on his back hard enough that he felt the floor and room quake. Corey grit his teeth as pain shot up his back, and he shut one eye, the other half-closing as he tried to keep an eye on his opponent. The creature was moving, one arm swinging back now, hand curled into a fist.

Corey let out a small gasp as he rolled out of the way, the creature's fist hitting the floor of the library hard enough to make a crack in the wood floor. Corey looked up, finally fixing his glasses as he took in the situation he was in for the first time. The creature, seeing it missed, looked up, its hollow glowing eyes now focused on him.

_Well, this is a fine situation I've gotten myself into,_ Corey thought, gritting his teeth as the creature moved, _And there's no getting out of it._

Corey kept his eye on the creature as it stood up straight before charging him again. Corey tried to brace himself, more concerned with figuring out a course of action. Despite his best defenses, he wasn't prepared for the shoulder charge that lifted him from his feet and sent him rolling along the ground into the kitchen, eventually impacting with a chair and causing it, the table, and the chair along the other side of the table to slide just a little bit as he slid into it.

Corey slowly rose, holding his side, one eye closed. He could feel his pulse pounding. Already fatigue was starting to set in, and he'd barely actually started to fight. He knew he stood no chance against it alone.

_But it's not going to stop me from trying,_ thought Corey, glancing slightly behind him to one of the chairs. The creature began to rush him again. Corey picked up the chair by its back and swung, catching the side of its head with the furniture. The green unicorn set the legs down for just a moment, trying to catch his breath and adjust his grip on the chair before he tried to attack again.

The creature's body turned, but Corey couldn't see if he'd inflicted any notable damage. Quickly, Corey went for another chair shot, landing this hit too. Once again, the creature's body pitched around with the hit, but didn't really budge. Corey's eyes flicked downward, looking at the crack that was on the creature's body.

_Could that be a weak spot?_ Corey thought, setting the chair down and adjusting his grip. The boy threw out yet another hit with the chair, aiming right for the crack, pushing with all his strength.

The impact happened, striking the creature on the side. Corey watched as the crack began to spread—just a little—and slightly smiled as his tactic began to work. But then, the creature's arm came down firmly on the legs, and Corey found he couldn't move it. Next thing he knew, the chair was jabbed back at him, sending him off balance and causing him to lose his grip.

Corey took a couple of steps backwards as the monster dropped the chair in front of itself. Looking around, Corey tried to assess his situation.

_Everything in here can be turned into a weapon in some way,_ Corey observed, _But most of it won't do me any good. I've gotta take this outside. At least that way others could see me and help, possibly._

Corey grit his teeth as the creature picked up the chair and threw it to the side before running towards him again.

_Provided I can survive, of course!_

* * *

The fight against the strange creatures continued to rage on, each of the Mane Six (and John) giving it their all in their own ways. But no matter how many times they would hit their targets, or how hard they did, the creatures continued to rise again.

"Shoot, these guys are tough," commented Applejack as she wiped some sweat from her forehead. One of the creatures charged her, but its efforts were only met with a strong kick to the head, causing it to stumble backwards and fall over. Much to Applejack's frustration, this wasn't permanent, "Rainbow wasn't exaggeratin' about them…"

All her years of applebucking—that is, giving trees really strong kicks—gave her legs enough strength to break the bark of a tree if she needed to. But the bodies of these creatures were so sturdy she could barely even leave a mark.

The others were not having better luck. Pinkie was making do with random party supplies that she fired from her trusty party cannon. That did little more than stall the creatures. Unlike Twilight, Rarity did not have a library of spells to choose from, and was thus using levitation to use whatever she could find around her as a weapon. Rainbow's speed far outstripped the creatures' by far, allowing her to strike as many times as she wanted without risking being hit back. However, she wasn't a heavy hitter, and all she did was more or less manage to make them stagger. Finally, there was Harry, a bear that happened to be the largest animal Fluttershy cared for. The bear had come to help her with this, but even he couldn't do much more than leave scratches on the bodies of the creatures; the bear, whose paws could easily break a pony with no demonstrable effort.

There were only two members who could actually break the creatures with their attacks, but they were having the hardest time of all with the fight. John's draconic strength was enough to break them with a single good punch, something which the creatures knew and were effectively avoiding so far. Twilight was having a similar problem; though she had the range, she couldn't aim at the creatures easily enough with a laser spell.

On top of all that, the creatures seemed to have no limit to their stamina; not once had they shown any signs of slowing down since the beginning of the fight.

_And that could be a problem,_ Twilight thought to herserlf, _While some of us are able to fight, that's not the case for everyone here…Even Pinkie has her limits; Rarity isn't that battle savvy; if Fluttershy's bear runs out of stamina, all she'll have is the Stare, and I don't think that's going to work…Think! There has to be a way to shift the balance, but how?_

"Twilight, look alive!" Applejack called out. Twilight turned, seeing one of the creatures rushing her. She was too late to respond; however, she didn't have to. Before the creature could get any closer, Twilight watched as a lasso came down around its torso. Half a second later, the creature was yanked away by Applejack, who held the other end of the rope.

As she watched Applejack spin the creature around with her rope, something caught the corner of her eye; John chasing after another creature. As she saw this, and Applejack's demonstration, something went off in Twilight's mind: a light bulb.

"That's it!" Twilight called out, "John!"

John stopped mid-step, looking back to her. All he could see was her point at Applejack, who was more or less tending to the same creature she'd just saved Twilight from.

"To Applejack!" Twilight elaborated, a little to John's confusion. She then turned her attention to Applejack and shouted another command.

"Applejack, to John!" she said to Applejack, pointing at John. Both looked to one another for a brief moment, each trying to figure out what Twilight was trying to say. But soon the dots connected, and both John and Applejack smirked.

The next moment, John rushed at Applejack while she continued to spin the ensnared creature with her lasso. When John was close enough, Applejack gave it one last powerful swing before she let go of the rope, letting the creature soar away from her, and towards the readied fist of the dragon. John threw out his punch as soon as the creature entered his range, landing a solid hit on the creature's back.

Just like last time, the creature's body instantly fissured under the force of his attack. And to ensure that the job was finished, John changed the path of his punch, aiming straight down. John's fist, with the creature still on it, slammed into the ground with all of John's weight thrown into it. Satisfied with the results, John straightened himself up, flashing a thumbs up to the two mares.

"Change in tactics girls," Twilight shouted as loud as she could so the others could hear her, "Subdue them however you can; give John or me a big enough opening to finish them!"

The others had no objections.

Rainbow was the first to act to the change of plans, grabbing on to one of the creatures and lifting it up in the air.

"Comin' at ya, Twilight!" Rainbow said, tossing the creature downwards. Twilight was ready for it this time, her horn glowing brightly as the creature fell helplessly. When Twilight fired off her laser, all the creature could do was flail as the laser made its mark, shattering the creature's head.

"Two down in the span of a minute," John thought to himself, "Alright, now who's next?" John wondered, looking around for signs of an opening. Something tapped on his shoulder and John whirled around to find Pinkie standing next to him.

"Brought you a present!" Pinkie said with a smile. At first, John didn't get it, until Pinkie stepped to her side to reveal one of the other creatures on the ground, inexplicably tied up in ribbons and wrapping paper. John smirked at the sight as he cracked his knuckles.

"Just what I've always wanted," John said, walking up to it. A couple seconds later, John brought the hammer down on its head, shattering it. Turning back to Pinkie, John rubbed the back of his head.

"Oops, I broke it…" John said innocently, earning a giggle from the pink pony.

Rarity and Fluttershy had worked together; with Harry's strength, he lifted the last one up by its throat against a small tree. Rarity, using a few vines and leaves, managed to form a strong enough binding to tie the creature in place, ensuring it would not move.

"Such a shame to see such fine material go to waste," Rarity commented, "But what can you do?" Turning to Twilight, who was already on standby, Rarity gave her remark, "They're all yours, darling!"

Once Rarity, Fluttershy, and Harry got clear, Twilight unleashed one last laser at the tied-up creature, striking it through the head once again, ending the battle right then and there.

"Oh yeah," Rainbow gloated, landing next to Twilight, "Who kicked butt? Us, that's who!"

While Rainbow continued to gloat, Twilight walked over to the creature she'd just destroyed.

_I've spent my whole life reading magical reference guides, but I've never seen anything like these things before,_ Twilight assessed, squatting down in front of it, _The markings on their bodies disappeared the moment they were destroyed…_

She reached out to touch one of them. As soon as her fingers came into contact with the surface of the creature, the body crumbled to dust completely.

"Twilight!" John's voice called out to her; she turned to face him, "We have a problem…"

"We only took down five of them," John pointed out.

"Well yeah," Rainbow said, "But you took down the other two, right?"

John didn't answer, prompting Rainbow to ask again.

"Right…?" Now there was an air of uneasiness around them. John looked back to her with a serious expression, feeling the tension grow.

"I only took down one," With John's admission, everyone went silent after that. During the commotion of the battle, not one member of the group performed a headcount.

"One got away," Twilight summarized, "It took advantage of the confusion and slipped away, but to where?" As the group continued to ponder the possibilities, Twilight's mind began to go into overdrive, as it usually did when she became stressed.

_Wait, where did Rainbow say they were heading before she and John stepped in? _Twilight thought, finding herself going back to that time in the library when Rainbow came in holding John's sweater. As soon as it clicked, Twilight's eyes went wide.

"_Corey!_" Without saying more than that, Twilight took off, kicking up enough wind to catch everyone's attention.

"Whoa!" commented Rainbow, "When'd she learn to go that fast?"

"Where do you think she's going?" Fluttershy asked, standing only slightly behind Harry, who was sniffing the air in confusion.

"Ponyville," John said, catching the others' attention, "The creatures were heading towards Ponyville!"

* * *

Corey wasn't even sure how he was still alive by this point. He'd been lifted off his feet at least three times since the fight started. At least Corey had managed to lead the manikin outside…by taking a knee to the stomach hard enough to send him off his feet. He landed hard on his back, his glasses bouncing on his face slightly from the impact. Corey groaned, feeling completely sore.

_Dammit, Spike, _Corey thought, _What's taking you so long?_

He looked up, adjusting his glasses as he struggled to sit up. He could see the creature with glowing eyes and body now looking right at him, standing in the open doorway. It looked at him, seemingly waiting for signs of life. Well, who was Corey to disappoint?

_I can't believe this,_ Corey thought, his eyes wide. One hand went to his side as he tried to get on his feet. _This place should have been the safest—_

Corey realized the skin on the side of his face was crawling. Using his free hand, he swiped at the feeling. Almost immediately, shock began to set in. On the back of his hand and on the cuff of his jacket was a red liquid.

_Blood? _Corey could hardly stop himself, his hands shaking as he stared at the blood, his eyes wide, pupils shrinking to the size of pins. He looked back to the creature, wide-eyed and slumped over, drenched in sweat both from the exertion and the stress. His breathing pattern had begun to speed up once again; he was in fact hyperventilating as he took in the situation in full, _I can't believe it…I…I might actually die here. Here! Of all places to die by something this violent, here!?_

Once again, the sound of blood pounding in his ears took over, and the only other sound he could actually hear was his own heartbeat; fast and loud in his chest. His perception of time slowed down again, the creature charging at him yet again.

_No…_

Corey stood up straight, his arms dangling to his sides after he managed to stand.

_No._

The creature was now well out of the door, half the distance between the library and him. Corey's hands clenched, and his jaw set, his teeth grinding together. All at once, Corey moved, the creature now inches from him, ready for another strike—

"_**No, dammit, no!**_"

Knowing it was his last punch either way, or at least believing it to be his last punch, Corey thrust his arm forward. Even though his eyes were closed, a white light suddenly thrust itself between his eyelids.

* * *

Admittedly, Twilight's confidence in her flight wasn't all that great. When it came down to it she only barely knew more than John did. Yet, here she was now, flapping her wings furiously as she made her way back towards the library. She didn't care too much for form right now; too worried about what she felt was happening.

_Please don't be in danger, please don't be in danger, _Twilight thought to herself, _I left him behind thinking he'd be safe. But one of those things got away, and now…_

She tried to get herself to calm down about the whole situation, but it was utterly useless. Twilight was worried out of her mind now. The fact one could have gotten to town was bad enough, but she feared the worst. She could hear the wind behind her; it was probably Rainbow flying after her. She was at least sure they had followed her as soon as they realized they were short one—

_No!_ Twilight thought, coming to a sharp halt as she reached the library's airspace. It was exactly the situation she was most afraid of. The door to her library was wide open, and one of the manikins they'd fought, eyes glowing red, was rushing a Corey who, Twilight realized, was barely even standing up straight.

It all happened so fast, but the event was so jarring that it remained burned in Twilight's memory. Twilight tried to move down so she could bust up that last one, but Corey suddenly stood up straight. His horn suddenly burst into a green light, far faster than it had during any of his practice sessions; perhaps the fear of the whole situation had motivated him. Corey jerked into a combative pose, and with all of his might cried out three words, at the top of his voice.

"_**No, dammit, no!**_"

But that in itself wasn't the strangest part. What happened next was something else Twilight hadn't seen before, though she'd at least read something about it. She couldn't quite make it out from the distance, but she swore that over Corey's forearm, bright green runes appeared, just as Corey swing his fist forward, meeting the manikin dead on.

The runes vanished just as quickly as they had appeared when Corey's fist made contact. The next thing Twilight knew, a shockwave of tremendous force burst out from the creature. The creature's entire upper body exploded, the chunks spraying backwards towards the library in a conic shape. At the same time, Corey was violently thrown backwards like a ragdoll; the shockwave having affected him, too. Something fell from his head at this point as he went.

Twilight quickly cast a teleport spell on herself in response, warping herself directly into her path. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she wondered why she didn't give herself a little more time before he careened into her to try to slow him down. Twilight fell backwards, holding on to Corey, his momentum carrying into her, flat on her back, where she was reminded she did in fact have wings now. And wings tend to sting a little when you suddenly fall onto them.

Once she was done wincing from having her wings suddenly clamped on by her and Corey's combined weight, she looked down. Whatever Corey did had taken a lot out of him. He was completely limp; however, a quick double-take revealed he was still breathing and was in fact still alive. However, as she looked to his face, the first thing she saw was red; a cut on his cheek. It wasn't so bad it'd need any special kind of treatment, but it was still concerning to say the least.

_He's hurt…_ Twilight thought to herself, noting that the whole fight had probably taken a long while. She looked ahead to the shattered manikin that was the cause of the cut on his face and probably more than a handful of bruises. _But still, to think he was able to even do that much…What __**did**__ he do…_

"Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, catching Twilight's attention, "What was that explosion just now?! Did you—"

"No, I didn't have anything to do with it," Twilight said.

"Then who?" Rainbow asked, looking around.

"I…" Twilight started, looking back down to the unconscious Corey, "I don't know _how_, but he did…"

* * *

_**And there's the end of the first ever fight of the story. Well, that's that for this week. See you all later.**_


	17. Act 2 Chapter 7

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 7: Shadows Out of Sight**

* * *

Pins and needles filled his consciousness. Those annoying pricks became more and more painful as time went on. Eventually, it became time for Corey to awake, his first waking breath taking the form of a groan. One of his hands went over his face, minding the horn—he'd woken up too many times to know that his life in Equestria was not a dream. Corey sat up, realizing he was on a soft surface that felt very familiar.

One of his eyes creaked open. He was met with a sight he didn't expect offhand to see: the very familiar sight of Twilight's room. His other eye opened; both eyes opening wide. Everything was silent; at least, he couldn't hear anything yet. Corey's head rotated as he surveyed the room.

_What happened? _Corey thought, rubbing his still sore forehead, _Last I remember, I was_…

His hand went to his face, where he vaguely remembered he was bleeding from. He felt the feeling of gauze; a bandage was over his cheek now. Corey lowered his hand, stunned.

"Did I…make it?" Corey asked, one hand going to his face, "It's all a blur…I—I can't remember anything…I must have passed out again…"

A sudden, loud noise from another room in the library startled Corey, causing him to look towards the closed door of his room. He found himself clenching his teeth, feeling a sudden feeling of déjà vu overcoming him.

"Please…" Corey grumbled, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. Another loud bang came from what sounded like downstairs, and Corey immediately tried to stand up and move towards the door.

His body vehemently protested this; his knees buckled under the pressure and he staggered, slumping forward. Eventually, Corey fell flat on his stomach, letting out a sharp grunt as he was forcefully reminded he was in a fight earlier. However, his paranoia was getting the better of him, and he needed to confirm that everything was really alright. So, with a few small grunts, Corey rose to his feet and began making his way to the door again.

Another loud bang; it sounded like it came from the right. Corey opened the door and quickly began to walk out of the room, only to bump into someone he didn't notice straight away. Quickly, Corey instinctively reached out, trying to correct his error.

"Oh!" Twilight cried out, stumbling a bit before Corey caught hold of her arm. Steadying herself, she realized who it was that bumped into her, "Corey!? You're awake?"

"S-sorry," Corey said, immediately looking away, "I, uh, just woke up, and heard a loud bang…I wanted to make sure…"

"Don't worry," Twilight responded, "All of those creatures were dealt with. No more have shown up around here since then."

Twilight looked over Corey as he finally released her. Even though she was happy to see he was awake now, a second look at him revealed his knees were wobbling just a little. His posture was also off; though he almost always had his shoulders down and was always hunched forward a bit, he seemed to be more front-heavy than normal.

"That's," Corey started, his legs shaking as he moved his foot back, "Good to hear…"

His knee buckled as soon as he finished taking that step. Corey fell flat on his rump, a sight which caused Twilight to gasp.

"Corey!" Twilight leaned forward, looking down towards him, "A-are you…"

"I-I'm fine," Corey didn't even sound convinced of that; he was wincing. His legs shifted a bit before they began to move, "Considering…"

Corey's legs bent at the knee and his arms moved directly to his sides, but as he attempted to push himself back onto his feet, something very obvious occurred to Twilight: Corey couldn't even stand in his current condition.

"You shouldn't be up right now," Twilight said, standing up straight. Casting a levitate spell, she began to tug Corey upwards, gently, until he was on his feet. She didn't stop casting the spell just yet; physically helping him walk, she began making her way towards her room.

"Here, let's get you back in bed," Twilight continued, "I was about to come in there to check up on you anyway…"

Corey cast a small look back at her; she wasn't sure why he seemed surprised for a half-second when he saw that. However, he seemed to relax and didn't object to Twilight's suggested course of action. Soon as they passed through the doorway, Twilight spoke up again.

"What happened here while I was gone?" Twilight asked, "Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"Well," Corey groaned, "After…after you two left, I continued to try to practice floating things. But I couldn't really focus too well. I was too worried about what was going on."

Twilight nodded, letting Corey sit down on the bed. He let out a small groan as he did so, and let out a few more grunts as he started to lie down again.

"I really can't blame you for being worried," Twilight said, "None of us really knew what was going on." Her gaze softened as she remembered she still had to tell Corey what was up. But, she felt that could wait, just a little longer.

"So, what happened?" Twilight asked again, refocusing the conversation, "Just tell me everything…"

"Alright, well, uh, I decided that I wasn't going to be able to, um, to concentrate…"

Corey began to tell his side of the fight, though it was clear his memory was a little fuzzy. It was almost as bad as listening to him try to explain computers. He said that he heard glass breaking downstairs; that much checked out. He went to go investigate it, and the creature eventually threw Spike at him; the last absolutely clear memory he had of the event. After that, it seemed like Corey was trying to remember important details; his face showed strain from that moment onward. It was clear that from then on the details began to run together.

However, when Corey began to describe what he had tried to do in order to resolve the situation, Twilight had to stop him.

"You sent Spike for help and tried to take it on by yourself?" Twilight asked, "I mean, it makes sense, but why didn't you try to get the help too? You knew you were outmatched…"

"I…I don't know," Corey stuttered, looking away, "I wasn't thinking. But it didn't seem to want to let Spike go, so…"

Corey continued his recap. The fog seemed to be incredibly dense inside his head as he continued onward. At some point, he revealed that he'd decided to try to get the fight outside. He had tried to lead the creature to the door with limited success, but eventually; he wasn't sure when it happened, but he'd managed to lead it to the door.

"…the absolute last thing I remember is being knocked out of the door and outside…" Corey finished, "After that…" Corey closed his eyes, his brows twitching as he tried to urge a memory out, "Nothing."

Twilight sat across from him, nodding, a stern expression on her face as she took in his tale. Eventually, she spoke up again.

"Are you sure you don't remember anything else?" Twilight asked.

"Y-yes," Corey nodded, "I-I told you what I could clearly remember. There were a few fragments in there, but I'm sure they were part of the fight. But the last thing I remember was being knocked outside…"

There was a silence in the room. Corey felt it was time to ask the question that was on his mind.

"Well, since I-I'm okay now," Corey said, "What happened? Did one of you make it back and finish it off?"

"No," Twilight said simply, "I still don't know what you did, but you were the one who finished it off."

Corey's gaze shifted at this, and Twilight soon found herself looking at an unfamiliar sight: two hazel eyes looking right into hers. Twilight blinked at the sight. She wasn't sure why, it seemed…weird, somehow. Besides the fact that it was the first time he'd looked into her eyes.

"Really?" Corey asked dryly, clearly not believing her, "How did I do that, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well," Twilight started, putting her palm to her chin, "After we managed to fight off the group that had assaulted John, we realized we were missing one—the one that came here."

"How'd it get this far out?" Corey asked.

"Can't say for sure," Twilight said, "All I really know is it managed to give everyone the slip. When I realized what had happened, I had rushed back here, hoping that I was wrong and that you and Spike were safe here. But I came back to find you outside, clearly beaten up and facing down a creature I'd hoped you wouldn't have to."

Corey watched Twilight intently, wondering what happened now.

"It ran at you, and you screamed, throwing out a punch at it," Twilight said, "But when you did, your magic surged. And with the surge came a spell I've never seen before."

Corey shifted a little in the bed, blinking as she said that. Corey wasn't sure if he could believe it, but Twilight didn't seem to be lying to him about this so far; she wasn't looking away, she wasn't freaking out, she was talking to him very clearly, and seemed to be struggling to believe it herself.

"When you threw out the punch, green runes appeared over your forearm…" Twilight said.

"R…runes?" Corey asked, unsure if he heard her right. Twilight, however, heard a sort of knowing tone in his voice.

"Do you know what those are?" asked Twilight in response.

"Well, so-sort of," Corey responded, looking slightly away, "But I'm probably not thinking of the right ones…"

"Would you like me to tell you what they are?" Twilight questioned again, "I can explain them if you want me to…"

"N-not yet," Corey stuttered, "I want to hear the rest of this…"

"Well, there's not much else to it," Twilight responded, "But when your punch hit the creature, the runes seemed to trigger a reaction; I'm not quite sure of what exactly happened, but I know that the end result was an explosion of tremendous force. It blew the creature's upper body up, and had enough force to also knock you off your feet."

Corey looked again to Twilight; it wasn't quite as direct as it was when she first told him that, but she could still sort-of clearly see his eyes. He blinked a couple of times; he looked in a couple of other places. It was clear to Twilight that he was having a hard time believing her.

"Corey," Twilight said, getting his attention. A slight smile on her face, she continued, "I'm still not sure what you did, but please, believe me. _You_ were the one who saved _you_. I wouldn't have said what I said if I didn't see it with my own eyes."

Corey's gaze shifted away again. He looked up towards the ceiling. Even though Twilight could no longer see his face directly, she could see him start to smile. Just like when he'd first successfully projected his cutie mark, it was a brighter smile than he normally had; one that showed hope and confidence that he could move on to a life here, one that showed he could advance. He reached up to cover his mouth for just a moment, but allowed his arm to rest at his side.

"I…" Corey started, failing to hide any excitement in his voice whatsoever, "I see." He finally rolled his head over to face her again, "So…what are runes?"

Twilight blinked. Maybe it was the fact he was actually smiling again, but for a moment she'd almost gotten lost. And that was the second time since she'd gotten him back into the room where he could rest.

"Oh," Twilight said, "Well, runes are, by themselves, a sort of writing system used by ponies of all kinds eons ago."

"Sounds about right," Corey said.

"Well, that's basically what they are," Twilight said, "But a single rune can mean several letters at once. It was essential to how spells were cast back in the days; even unicorns, who could tap into their magic reserves on their own, had to use them due to the speed they could be cast once written out."

"So," Corey responded, trying to understand what he was being told, "What you're saying is that they were essentially portable spells that any pony could use?"

"That's exactly it," Twilight smiled to him again; Corey finally shifted his gaze away for a few moments. She continued, "Runes were used very often back in those days, but…"

Corey looked over again, "But…?"

"At some point, any information on runic magic just…cuts off," Twilight said, "Like it suddenly dropped off the face of the earth without a trace…"

"So, y-you're saying I wrote runes with…with my magic, which in turn created some kind of spell _on the spot_?" Corey asked after a small pause.

"Y-yes," Twilight said, "I've never read about any kind of magic like that. Usually the runes themselves are inactive until ponies activate them; it's a similar force to projecting a cutie mark, from what I've read. This is the first time I've seen runes used to cast spells on the spot while themselves being generated by a unicorn's spell!"

"Wish I knew how I did it," Corey groaned, leaning back.

Twilight paused, looking aside. Her palm went back to her chin as she thought back to what she saw earlier today.

_I've never seen runic magic until today, _Twilight said, _But I haven't seen the magic that gave those creatures life either…I might be overthinking—No! I can't be. But still…_

Corey watched Twilight's expression, unsure of what she was thinking about; that is, until she said something to herself.

"I'm definitely going to be up late trying to find out…" Twilight whispered.

"Haven't you done enough of that recently?" Corey asked her. Twilight immediately whipped her head around to look at him, having not expected him to hear her.

"H-huh?" Twilight asked, looking to him. Corey flinched only a little bit, but he'd already said it out loud.

"I…" Corey started, "H-haven't you…Haven't you kept yourself up all night enough recently?"

Twilight's mouth hung open at the question; she wasn't sure how to respond. Corey wasn't sure how to take her silence either, and kept right on going.

"I mean, I-I've seen you go downhill the past few days," Corey said, "Worrying yourself sick over something, I didn't know what; I…I still don't know what. I-I just don't think y-you should…should worry yourself sick over it…"

Twilight finally stopped faltering as Corey continued on. She sighed, looking down, her hands resting on the bedside.

"I…I guess you're right," said Twilight after a moment of silence, "I spent all this time worrying about getting you involved…and it happened anyway. I know I owe you an explanation now more than ever…but…but I'm afraid of what could happen when I tell you…"

Twilight shifted a little as an unfamiliar feeling came over her hand. She looked down, and was promptly bewildered to find Corey's hand holding hers.

"Y-you don't have to," Corey stuttered again, "N-not if you don't want to. But please…don't torment yourself over it."

Twilight looked up, unable to stop herself. For the second time that day, their eyes met. His eyes were alight with concern; there was no mistaking it now that he was looking right back at her. It was almost the same look he'd given her before Rainbow barged in to tell her what was going on. Except his expression had an urgent quality that wasn't there before.

She couldn't quite understand what that feeling in her chest was; it was there, but only for a moment. Twilight gave a small smile to his expression. Corey's gaze flicked away for a moment again; he looked slightly uncomfortable, but nonetheless returned it.

Twilight closed her eyes, her smile soon fading as she recalled what she was told. Corey said earlier he'd want to worry about whether or not he could handle it, but she wasn't sure how well he'd take it.

Their worlds were nothing alike, from what she could gather.

"Okay," Twilight released a small sigh, moving her hand slightly. Corey lifted his hand, unsure if she wanted it back; unsure how long he'd been holding on to it. He eventually rested his hand just centimeters from Twilight's, "A…a few days ago…"

* * *

The others didn't even know Corey was being informed of the events that took place a few days ago. However, the remaining Bearers took it upon themselves to explain the situation to John in light of what had just happened. Given now he was more or less involved in the whole thing.

Rainbow had taken charge in recounting what they were told; John was completely silent the whole time. John didn't even really react too much when he heard the gates of Tartarus were forced open.

"So that's about it," said Rainbow, "After that we tried to act like nothing happened, while trying to get ready if something did."

"And on top of that we had you two to worry about," Applejack chimed in, "Ya'll were tryin' to adapt to a new life here. We didn't wanna add anythin' else to your plate."

The others gave a collective nod of agreement. The room fell totally silent, all eyes now on John who had yet to say anything. John himself was far too deep in his own thoughts, slowly taking in the information the others had shared with him.

_Something's not right…_ John thought to himself, _I just got told that all hell literally broke loose. Anyone who heard this would be completely terrified. Heck, even they admitted they were shaken. But…_

John paused, directing his attention towards his chest. His heart was beating slowly, rhythmically as he stood there, processing the story.

_Why am I so…calm?_

"John?"

Hearing his name snapped John out of his thoughts. Only now could he see the others looking back to him, all concerned.

"Sorry," John said, rubbing the back of his head, "I guess it's a lot to take in all at once."

"Can't say I blame you," said Rainbow, "We were all the same way when we first heard this. You also gotta promise not to tell anyone. We only told you because we're afraid what happened today might be connected."

There was an air of uncertainty in the room as Rainbow finished her statement.

"Soon as he gets up, we've gotta tell Corey 'bout this too," Applejack said, "May not be good for him, but like Rainbow said, what happened might be related to that breakout."

At this, John's thoughts went to Corey. As far as he knew he hadn't woke up yet. Twilight had went upstairs on her own to see if he was alright; she hadn't come back yet. Now, John wondered if she had taken it upon herself to tell Corey the situation. And if she had, John had one question on his mind.

_How's Corey going to handle this?_

* * *

"And—and that's what's been going on," Twilight finished, her eyes closing, an uncomfortable look on her face. Corey laid back in the bed, his eyes wide. He knew, more or less, what Tartarus was, but he couldn't imagine what or who else could have possibly come out of there.

_A breakout at Tartarus!?_ Corey thought to himself, struggling to absorb the information, _From the sounds of things, it's not who actually did break out; but then, if it's not him, who could have escaped?!_

As he continued to process the information he was told, his breathing rate began to quicken, and his heart rate began to steadily increase. He felt sweat began to form on his brow. It wasn't by any means an alien feeling; Corey knew he was starting to feel fear all over again.

_What kind of monsters did they lock away in there, other than the one?_ Corey thought, his mind rapidly whirling about, _Murderers? I didn't even think they had those! But they do…they do! And the gates of that place were wrestled open and some of the __**worst**__ scum on the planet managed to get out?!_

Twilight watched Corey's response. At first she would have dared say he was taking her story in stride. Now, however, she could see the warning signs: the million-yard stare, the quickened breath, the sheen of sweat. It was clear he was unraveling at the seams. Already she began to regret telling him the news; alas, she couldn't take it back now.

"I-I'm sorry," Twilight stuttered, having dreaded this kind of response. Corey's eyes briefly glanced over to her at the sound of her voice, but he remained facing the ceiling, "I know this must be a lot to take in, Corey."

"A place designed to hold in the worst this world has to offer," Corey said, his voice sounding dangerously monotone; not unlike when he first woke up after realizing he'd gotten himself stuck in this world, "The gates broken wide open and some managed to get out…of course it's a lot to take in."

"But…" Twilight paused for a moment, reaching out for his hand, which by now had curled into a fist, clutching the sheets beneath them. He hadn't moved it from where it was since the start of the story, even when her hand went back to herself.

When she finally took hold of it, she realized his hand was clenched so hard it was trembling. Corey failed to respond to her touch, still looking up at the ceiling.

"Corey, please, look at me," Twilight said. Corey released what only vaguely sounded like a sigh and turned his head to face her, "I promise you, I won't let anything happen to you…"

Corey found he couldn't say anything. It was comforting, at the very least, to hear such a good thing. Maybe, maybe he could—

_**No,**_ came that inner voice of his again, overcoming his initial thought processes.

_What?_ Corey thought.

_**Is this really what you want?**_ asked that inner voice, _**To just sit back while everyone else protects you?**_

Corey's response changed before it even left his mouth.

"…No." Corey said, ending his pause.

"Corey?" Twilight asked, immediately concerned.

"Up until today, when I was up against that creature," Corey responded, "I…I never really knew what it f-felt like to be…to be useless. You all fought six and came back completely unharmed. I barely even 'fought' one…"

Twilight felt the hand she was currently holding grab the sheets tighter.

"And look at me now, barely able to stand on my own…my own two feet."

"But that's not your fault," Twilight said, leaning towards him just a little, "You're still learning the basics of magic."

"That may be, but…but," Corey continued, "Didn't you say I used a spell on that creature? One that used runes? Even if by accident, isn't it possible I could do it again?"

"Well," Twilight paused, "In theory, I suppose so."

"Then please…" Corey said, turning to face her directly for the third time that day, "You have more knowledge on this stuff than I could ever hope to have. Please…please teach me how to use the spell again. So that if—" Corey paused, wondering if the word "if" was really appropriate, "—if this ever happens again…I won't be the one everyone worries about…"

Twilight's heart bled out for Corey, it truly did. She understood the feeling of being completely powerless in a situation all too well. And it was a feeling you did not want to feel more than once. Even so, she was still concerned. Corey managed to survive his encounter by the skin of his nose. And even that was down to luck.

_But would he be as lucky a second time?_ Twilight thought, looking up to meet Corey's eyes. There was fear there, there was no questioning that, but after a double-take she could see something was mixed within it, an emotion she'd seen many times from her other friends enough times to be able to pick it out with a little effort.

_Determination…_ Twilight thought, _And once a pony finds it, there's no getting them to back down. His heart is set on this...and I don't think I have the heart to refuse…_

"Okay," Twilight said at last, "I'm not sure how, but I'll help you try to reuse that spell."

A smile began to spread across Corey's face once again.

"But on one condition," Twilight added quickly, "We still don't know much about this spell other than it knocked you off your feet and drained you of a lot of magic. So until we can get a better understanding of how you use the spell and why, you can only attempt it under my supervision."

Corey didn't voice any objections, not that he had any to begin with. Knowing he had her support was enough for him. He loosened his grip on the bed at last.

_That spell was enough to destroy the creature I fought with just one hit. If I can master it, I'll be able to help them,_ Corey thought.

"Thank you," Corey nodded slightly.

Twilight stood, extending her hand out to Corey.

"Think you can stand now?" she asked.

"I can try," Corey said, taking her hand once again. It took some effort, but he managed to stand himself up. His legs still felt heavy, but not nearly as much as they did before. If he focused on it, he could manage to walk around without falling.

"Good," Twilight said, "You should be better after a good night's rest, then we can try to figure out that spell. But until then, how about we check on the others?"

Corey nodded, taking a few, slow steps forward. As he tested his ability to walk, Twilight's thoughts went back to what had happened earlier, and felt the familiar feeling of uneasiness creep its way into her heart.

_That attack couldn't be a coincidence,_ Twilight thought, _If it was connected to the breakout, then this won't be the last strange thing we'll see. If it does happen again, we'll all need to be ready…_

* * *

Inside a dark cave, far removed from society in general, there were stirs of darkness. Echoes of cries of revenge bounced around in the moist cave air. However, one chamber of the cave was lit up; two figures stood within it with what looked like holographic screens surrounding them. One wore a cloak, and was the size of a regular pony. The other was exceptionally larger, even bigger than the black and blue dragon seen in one of the screens.

Of course, those screens weren't just any screens. They were replaying scenes from the action from earlier. Currently, two of the screens were actually showing static; the other five were shot from a point of view that suggested they were from the viewpoints of the strange creatures themselves.

"I must say, I expected the Six to play their part," said the smaller, pony-sized figure, its voice distinctly feminine, "Those two newcomers, however…when did they get there?"

"What's the dragon doing fighting alongside those ponies?" scoffed the larger figure, its voice distinctly masculine, "Stupid. I could crush him in an instant."

"Of that, I'm not so sure," the feminine figure said, looking up to a screen just before it turned to static—John having punched out one of the creatures, "As unskilled as he is, he was still able to stand up to seven of the manikins on his own for a while."

"I don't get it," said the larger figure, "Why'd you send just seven of those things? Why not send the rest of us and just be done with it?"

"Patience," said the smaller figure, "I merely wanted to establish the players before we began making our moves…"

" 'Establish the players'…" said the larger one.

"Is there an issue?" The smaller one's voice gained an icy edge to it, her head turning to the larger one. The larger one took a step back, distinctly…afraid, perhaps?

"No," the larger figure said, "But from what I've seen, the only ones I've seen that can actually fight out of all of them are one of those pegasus ponies and the earth pony…"

His gaze went to the sight of one of the screens. It had been a bit hard to make it out ever since John had tossed it off, but it was now facing down a green unicorn. The manikin charged into what looked like a glowing punch, but what made it glow, neither could tell; the picture was too blurry. The next moment, the holographic screen filled with static.

The two watched the remainder of the battles, until each screen was filled with static.

"Overall, I'd have expected more out of Celestia's pieces," spat the female figure, lifting her hands and dispersing the screens. The cave darkened as the screens went away, "But nonetheless, her players are locked-in now. As for us, we've had ours since our escape."

"So now what?" asked the larger figure.

"_Patience,_" The smaller figure sneered, causing the larger one to draw back, afraid, "You will play your part very soon. But first, I need to make sure the opposition knows what they're dealing with…"

* * *

**_And that's how we end this one. So what's going on now? And what does that mysterious pony-sized cloaked creature mean by "pieces"? Find out next week!_**


	18. Act 2 Chapter 8

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 8: Step Up: Game Start**

* * *

_Equestria Log – Day 9_

_You know, I'm having doubts that I'll be able to do what I want to, but I'm not content with just sitting behind the lines. Even if it means I'll be working harder than I ever have before. I can't say what I've chosen to do is in any way sane or thought-out. But after what they've done for me, it's the right thing to do._

_For whatever reason, I was writing runes against that creature. Whatever I wrote or cast or whatever was enough to one-shot it. If I can figure out the mechanics behind the runes, I might be able to find a way to use that spell again. _

_So, today begins what is likely the first time I've ever done serious studying. Twilight seems to insist on getting together what we can find out about runes, if anything. I'm still going to be learning regular magic too, but I want to try to learn the runic stuff too; it could possibly be a greater asset than I think it could be._

_I'm going to be a bigger help than before, Twilight. This much, I promise you._

* * *

Twilight had to admit she never thought she'd be walking her way back through the Everfree Forest. It wasn't exactly a place a pony could go for a pleasant walk even in the middle of the day. However, it was something that she felt had to be done, in the name of knowledge.

First thing in the morning, Twilight had gone to visit each of her friends, asking her which ones would accompany her on a trip through the Everfree Forest. All but one declined for various reasons.

"Gotta say, never thought we'd be back here again," Rainbow observed, looking across the bridge she'd fixed so long ago, "You sure there's anything worth lookin' for in there?"

"Well, it seems like a good place to start," Twilight said, "This is the castle that Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both grew up in when they were young."

"And?" Rainbow asked.

"There might be something here that can give us some insight into the creatures we encountered," Twilight continued, "And possibly contain information on runic magic I haven't seen yet."

"You think something like that," Rainbow commented, pointing to the dilapidated castle across the bridge, "Would be in a place like this?"

"It couldn't hurt to look," Twilight said.

"Hey, what's taking so long?!" Rainbow called out, her and Twilight's heads turned to look back down the path. John was walking up to the group, looking maybe mildly annoyed if anything. A few steps behind him, dragging his feet, was Corey.

"It wasn't that much of a walk," John grumbled to Corey, turning to look at him.

Corey looked down, grumbling something that John either didn't pick up or chose not to respond to. After a few more seconds the two reached the others. John looked up towards the castle, blinking when he realized where they were. Corey, however, continued to face towards the ground. And there was an odd noise coming from him.

"Are you—" Rainbow blinked, looking over to Corey, "Are you out of breath!?"

"No," Corey snapped, looking up.

Before Rainbow could comment on Corey's response, Twilight stepped in.

"Well, it looks like we're all here," she said, attempting to end the conversation before things got ugly. Twilight took a step onto the old rope bridge, which creaked as she put weight onto that foot, "Let's go ahead and go inside. Careful, now…"

As Twilight continued to make her way across the old rope bridge, followed by Corey, Rainbow hovered at eye-level with John.

"Touchy…" she whispered, earning a sigh from John.

"You don't know the half of it," he said, taking his first step onto the bridge.

The instant his weight shifted, the bridge let out a very loud creak. Twilight stumbled, reaching out for a rope to steady herself; Corey froze and grabbed both ropes for support. John too froze, looking down to where his foot had made the creak. The others were a bit ahead of him now. They all turned back to the start of the bridge, seeing John frozen in place on the bridge. Rainbow let out a small chuckle, but said nothing.

"John," Corey groaned from where he was stating, "I don't know if the bridge can take you like you are now…"

John blinked, re-checking himself. In that moment, he'd forgotten he was a dragon, and as such, had a much larger and heavier frame than he did back on Earth. More importantly, he'd also forgotten something else that came with being a dragon.

"Hey, who's been training you to use these things?" Rainbow's voice piped in, coming along with a very light tap on one of the very large wings that were on his back. She hovered next to him, a confident smirk on her face, "Here, I'll show you what you gotta do…"

By now, everyone had pretty much made it across the bridge. Rainbow backed up a bit before flying across the gap, not even touching the bridge or even hovering over it.

"Just like that, John!" Rainbow called across the gap. Corey seemed confused, until he turned his attention back to John. He stood there, watching. Everyone was now watching him.

_Gliding across the gap?_ John thought, looking across the gap once again, _I __**could**__ make it…Maybe I'll take her up on it, see if I can do this._

John backed up a bit from the bridge. He took a step to his left, so he wouldn't even need to worry about breaking the bridge if he missed. With a few steadying breaths, John prepared himself for the riskiest flight he'd ever taken.

_Don't miss!_ John reminded himself. With one last intake of air, he rushed forward, opening his wings to catch the wind from his running start. As soon as he felt he needed to, he took the biggest jump his body would allow him to. His wings caught the wind, and he gained a little height as he began to glide his way across the gap. He continued to clear the gap, the others looking on.

"He's already gone this far?" Corey wondered aloud, watching John's trajectory in the air carefully. It seemed like he had the height and distance down.

"Yeah, I know, I did a—" Rainbow caught something, and instead let off an "—uh" instead of a brag. Now that John had cleared most of the distance, something else very important came up. John's face had changed from a confident look to one of abject fear, and he was losing height faster than he was gaining distance.

John crashed hard into the rock wall chest-first, causing him to cough a little. However, his clawed hands quickly found traction on the rocks, saving him from falling down.

"John!" Corey called out, taking a few steps forward before rushing over to him, "Can you get up?"

"No, no, it's cool," John said, slowly maneuvering one of his clawed feet to try to climb back up. His first attempt did him no favors; he lost traction and slipped a little. However, on his second attempt, he managed to get a good grip and began making his way back him. Corey had his hand extended to try to help him up, but soon regretted it when he realized just how hard a dragon who'd just almost taken a nasty fall can grip his hand.

"Seriously, John," Rainbow said, "What's it with you and crashing into things?"

Soon as everyone had gathered around the doors following John's mishap, Twilight got the group to re-focus on the goal at hand.

"Alright," said Twilight, "Let's see if we can find what we're looking for…"

With that, she pushed the doors open, allowing the group inside. The castle interior looked no better on the inside than it did the outside. Walls were cracked, windows were shattered, and part of the ceiling above was caved in.

It was almost exactly as the show depicted it, Corey and John knew this. Even so, Corey and John stood in awe. It didn't matter how many times they'd seen it in the show; it didn't compare to seeing it up close and personal.

_So this is where it all started,_ Corey thought, images of the battle between the Mane Six and Nightmare Moon resurfacing in his mind as he looked around.

"I take it neither of you have ever been in a castle before?" asked Twilight, noticing the looks of wonder on their faces.

"Not many castles close to where we lived," said Corey. John merely nodded in agreement, still looking around.

"Doubt they could compare to this, though," John added.

"And this is just the surface," Twilight said, "Actually, this'll be a first for all of us. The last time Rainbow and I were here we didn't exactly have the time to see what this castle had to offer."

John and Corey knew this much already. Twilight also gave herself a moment of pause, remembering that fateful night. How long ago was it? Still less than a year, she remembered that much. To her, it was far more than the night when Princess Celestia was reunited with her sister, Princess Luna.

It was also the night in which Twilight met the greatest friends a pony could ask for.

"Come on," she said at last, turning to the others, "It might take some time to find the library here."

"So where do we start?" asked Rainbow, looking around. The part of the castle they were in now had several entrances to different hallways. Directly in front of them was a staircase upwards which probably lead to more stairs.

"That's a good question," Twilight said, hand to chin as she began to think it over, "Probably isn't worth wasting time on trying to figure out which to pick first. Probably best to go with the closest hall," Twilight pointed to that particular hallway, "And go from there."

* * *

No one had any objections. All three followed close behind Twilight as she made her way down the hall. Rainbow began to hover next to Twilight as she walked, eventually striking up a conversation. A little ways behind them, Corey and John did the same.

"So I take it you were told about the breakout too?" asked John.

"Yeah," Corey said.

"How'd you take it?" John questioned. Corey paused as the memory of yesterday afternoon washed over him.

"Not so good," Corey sighed, "Took all I could not to have another panic attack. It was just too much to take in. Yesterday's attack was one thing…" Dropping his voice super low in volume so Twilight and Rainbow couldn't hear him, he continued with, "You'd almost expect it, given this world's track record…"

"But after hearing what could have been the cause," Corey only raised his volume just a little afterward, "To find out the very gates that held back the worst of the worst were wrenched open," Corey paused yet again, a small chill dancing its way down his spine, "The thought of it was terrifying."

_Can't blame you, Corey,_ John thought, thinking back to when he found out about it, _It's a normal response. But what does that say about my own?_

"How about you?" Corey asked, breaking John from his thoughts, "How'd you take the news?"

John wasn't sure how to answer this, partly because he still couldn't believe how little of a reaction he'd had at the time, and partly because he knew Corey could get a little…volatile. It was more the former fact, though; everyone else was afraid, all worried about what could happen. And yet all he did was shrug it off…

"I…had my share of problems when I found out too," John said, "I had a hard time falling asleep last night."

Corey looked over to John, seeing him rub the back of his head and look away as he did so. Though both of those seemed normal in themselves for John, it still didn't seem right.

"John, are you sure you're—" Corey couldn't finish his sentence. From ahead of them, a good ways ahead of them, there was a loud scream; worse still, Rainbow and Twilight were nowhere to be seen.

"What happened?" John asked.

"Don't tell me…" Corey responded, remembering something very important about the castle from previous viewings. John remembered it too; both boys took one look at each other. Realizing both of them were on the same page, both took off into a full sprint down the hall.

"Twilight!?" Corey shouted back.

"Over here, hurry!" Twilight called back; her voice sounded closer than it did before. Up ahead, the two saw another door, "Sweet Celestia, I can't believe it!"

The two pressed forward towards the door, still hearing Twilight the whole way. They were fifteen yards and closing from the door.

"There are…"

Ten yards.

"_There are_…!"

Five yards.

"**So many**!"

Corey and John burst through the doors, ready to help if needed—

"_**Books!**_"

Corey and John paused, finally taking in the picture ahead of them. Twilight stood in the center of the room, several books floating around her as she twirled around gleefully—were those stars in her eyes?

"What…in…the…" Corey asked, looking around for the first time.

"As you can see, she found the library," said Rainbow, who Corey and John both only now realized was standing next to them with her arms crossed.

John and Corey continued to look around, the shock of hearing Twilight scream. What Rainbow said was true, they were standing inside a library; a rather large one at that. Putting two and two together, the two men realized they'd jumped to the wrong conclusion; the scream Twilight uttered wasn't of terror, but of joy.

John sighed in relief, applying a palm to his face. Corey released his own sigh, but his palm went directly over his heart, which was still beating hard; more from the fear reaction than the run, Corey realized.

_Should have known…_ Corey thought, _But after what just happened, am I really wrong to have assumed something worse…?_

"Well, don't just stand there!" Twilight said; a few moments later, the others in the room were pulled towards her via her magic, "We have little time and a lot of library to search through! We'll each take one of the four corners and see what we can find!"

Wasting no time at all, Twilight picked the corner that she believed had the most books and began her search.

"This is gonna be a long day…" Rainbow groaned, hanging her head.

"I'll just…stand here and keep guard," said John. It wasn't like he hated reading, but from the looks of any of the corners, it seemed like too many books to sift through—

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow said, grabbing John by the ear, "If I have to, then so do you…"

Corey watched, mildly amused, as Rainbow began to drag John back towards the books. Quickly, Corey turned before anyone could see his smirk, and took in the corner closest to him.

"Hard to believe he's a dragon sometimes…" Corey observed, taking a deep breath before walking over to the shelves.

* * *

The library's collection of material was vast. Even with each of them taking a corner, there were still a lot of books to go through. Each bookshelf held hundreds if not thousands of books of varying size and length. It was surprising to see that despite the relative condition of the castle and how long it had been since any of the books were last used, that the books themselves were in good shape. But even though the books hadn't been lost to the sands of time, it only meant there were more books for the team to search.

Even after an hour of searching, they had only made a fraction of a dent to the collection. Worse, none of the books they searched through had any information on what they were looking for. After some time everyone was called towards the center of the room by Twilight.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"Whole lot of nothing on my end," said Rainbow, leaning on one of the desks around them.

"Same here," John said, "Lots of novels and stuff like that, but nothing close to what we're looking for."

Twilight bit down on the tip of her thumb; she was afraid of that. Turning to Corey, she asked him a simple question.

"How about you, Corey?" she asked.

"I-I actually found some reference guides," he said. At first, everyone looked hopeful, until Corey added with a sigh, "But none of them had information on runes."

The others let out a collective, small groan. So far, all their searching was utterly fruitless.

"Looks like this was a waste…" Rainbow said.

"We don't know that yet!" Twilight interjected, "Let's take a little break and try again. We'll change tactics and all focus on the same side of the library. Since Corey was able to find some reference guides, we'll start over there."

Rainbow gave a dismissive scoff at the idea, but didn't say anything else.

"Actually, I'm going to search a little longer," Corey said, already moving back towards his corner, "Hey, John, could you help me?"

John followed Corey after a couple of seconds without giving a vocal response. When they were a ways away from the girls, Corey stopped, appearing to inspect the shelves.

"Where are we starting?" John asked.

"Actually, John," Corey said, turning to look past John to make sure Twilight and Rainbow hadn't followed; they hadn't. With that in mind, Corey dropped his voice in volume just a little, "I just wanted to get out of earshot."

"And why do you want to do that?" John questioned, raising a brow. Corey motioned for John to come closer. John followed the non-verbal command; only then did Corey speak again.

"I was thinking, you remember the episode where we saw the inside of the castle, right?" Corey whispered, "From the…current season? And Inspiration Manifestation, too?"

John nodded. He remembered very well; Spike found a hidden book in the library and took it to a struggling Rarity. Needless to say, things spiraled out of control from there.

"Yeah, I do," John said, "What about them?"

"The information Twilight had on runes were limited to just basic things about them; that is, what they were and what they were used for in the old days. She said there was nothing else out there…all the information seemingly vanished. I don't think something like that would just vanish without a reason. It's got to be hidden somewhere in here, in those passageways we saw…or ones like them," Corey explained, keeping his voice low.

John looked around, scanning the covers of all the books on the shelves. Slowly, John began to understand exactly what Corey was trying to say.

"So you think it's hidden?" John asked, "Like that book? It's possible…something like that being removed from public view? You wouldn't want just anyone to find it. But what are the chances this library will have something?"

"I'm not sure," Corey said, "But you know what?" Corey paused, as though trying to choose his words, "It's gotta be worth a shot if-!"

"Okay, okay," John cut Corey off, knowing full well where that tangent was going, "It might be worth a shot, but how are we going to go about this?"

Corey looked back to the bookshelves, a dour expression on his face.

"Check everything that works," Corey said, as seriously as if he'd just reported on a terrorist attack, "If we use every haunted house cliché we can think of, maybe we'll get lucky."

John understood well enough what Corey was getting at, and gave him a nod.

"Keep checking the shelves, I'll check other things," said John, already moving away to do whatever. Corey turned back to the shelves, and began resting his hands on the tomes that were lined up there. However, Corey began to tilt each book, one by one to see if something was holding.

_Biggest cliché of all, book switch,_ Corey thought, haphazardly testing any books that he felt looked suspicious.

_**Snap!**_

"What was that?" Corey asked, whipping his head around to the sound. John stood next to a headless statue, clearly hiding something behind his back.

"Um…there was no switch to be found under the statue's head…" John said, bringing the broken head into view.

Corey groaned and applied his palm to his face, shaking his head in disapproval. Corey turned back to the books once again while John tried to find a way to hide the stone head. Eventually, John gave up and very clumsily rested it back on the statue as best he could.

_That's hardly noticeable…_ thought John to himself, looking at the askew, cracked head on the bust.

The two continued to search for hidden switches for a few more minutes; nothing turned up.

"John, you found anything?" Corey asked, annoyed, having moved a few books aside to look behind them at the shelf itself.

"Nothing," John said with an annoyed sigh, "Guess clichés just don't hold up like you'd expect."

"Dammit," Corey sighed, "Really hoping they would have…"

"Still no luck, huh?" The sound of Rainbow's voice got their attention. Both Corey and John turned to see her and Twilight walking up to them, having no idea of what the two boys were trying to invoke.

"Well, hopefully, we'll have better luck together," Twilight said, turning to Rainbow, "Rainbow, how about you check the top shelves?"

"Sure thing," Rainbow began to float upwards towards the top of the bookshelf. The search continued from here, the team tackling the shelves from two different points. It looked like it would be a long day of searching, with a lot of doubt if they'd find anything at all in the old library. However…

"What the hay?" Everyone looked up at the sound of Rainbow's question. They saw Rainbow, whose hand was clenched tightly around a book, pulling on it. However, the book seemed to be superglued to the shelf.

"What's wrong, Rainbow?" asked Twilight, calling up to her.

"Stupid thing won't budge!" Rainbow shouted, putting her other hand on the book and beginning to tug even harder on it. This didn't work. Eventually, she began to move into position.

"Rainbow, don't do that!" Twilight called out, seeing Rainbow putting her feet on the shelf just below the offending book for leverage. Rainbow didn't listen, her focus entirely on the book that refused to budge. In this position, Rainbow gave the book one last hard pull back. Only then did the book finally come out of its place.

"Finally gotcha, you little—" Rainbow's gloating was cut short when the only thing holding her up shifted, and she began to fall, caught off-guard…

"Gotcha!" John called out, placing himself under Rainbow with his arms held out in front of him. It wasn't too hard a catch to make; Rainbow pretty much fell right into his arms. With this in mind, John unleashed his next statement, "Had a nice fall?"

Rainbow let out a groan, smacking him over the head with the book that had been so hard to pull out.

At that moment, there was a loud sound; one that matched the sound of a latch coming undone. Suddenly, the bookshelf in front of them started to move up, taking the wall with it. Everyone watched in awe as this happened. Eventually, a hollowed out path was revealed to be behind the bookcase. John's eye twitched as he took that in.

_Oh sure, but when we want to find one, it doesn't pop up…_ John thought.

"Hey, you can put me down now," Rainbow said flatly. John looked down, only now realizing he was still carrying her.

"Maybe I don't want to?" John joked, smirking down at her.

"Don't make me hit you again," said Rainbow as she held up the book again to show her threat was not idle.

John chuckled a little at her response, which earned him the promised whack over the head. With that, John finally put Rainbow down. All four of them began to enter the passage. Once they'd entered, they could see it wasn't a hallway, but a path to a spiral staircase that lead downwards. Along the stone walls were strange green crystals that lit up the passageway with an eerie glow of the same color. But even with the help of the light, no one could see the bottom of it.

"Wonder what's down there…" John whistled, his curiosity at its peak.

"Only one way to find out," Twilight said, taking the lead as she began to make her way down the stairs. Corey followed soon afterward; John and Rainbow going down after him. However, the group didn't get too far down before Rainbow, looking down the middle of the spiral stairs, spoke up.

"You know, I could just fly down there and bring whatever I find back up here," Rainbow pointed out.

"And if you couldn't, we'd still need to go down there," Twilight said back.

"Okay, but we still have wings," Rainbow argued, "We could just fly down there, it'd be a lot faster."

"Not all of us," Twilight said, motioning towards Corey, "Not going to leave him behind to go down alone."

"Oh, come on," Rainbow groaned, "All the spells you know and you're telling me you don't have one that would help him down?"

Twilight halted, pondering it for a moment. However, she eventually thought of a simple one that would work.

"Actually, I think I have just the thing," Twilight said, raising one finger up.

"Perfect," said Rainbow, already beginning to hover in preparation for her flight down, "I'll see ya when ya reach the bottom!"

"Bet I can beat you there," said John.

"You're on!" Rainbow shot back.

With that, John jumped off the stairs and made use of gravity to take him down. Rainbow flew downwards under her own power. Soon as they were out of sight, Twilight put her focus into a spell. A magenta platform soon appeared in the center of the spiral stairs.

"And here I thought that Applejack was the only one who shared Rainbow's competitive nature," she said, stepping onto the platform.

"You don't know the half of it," said Corey, deadpan, as he joined Twilight. With a flash of Twilight's horn, the platform turned into an elevator and began to descend.

* * *

When the platform finally reached the bottom, Corey and Twilight were immediately greeted by the sight of Rainbow performing a victory dance as John watched with a slightly annoyed look on his face.

"I take it you beat him?" Twilight asked of Rainbow.

"I don't wanna talk about it…" John said flatly.

"He chickened out and opened his wings before we reached the bottom," Rainbow gloated.

"Didn't you say you survived a thirty foot fall?" asked Corey to John.

"Doesn't mean I want to make a habit of it!" John shouted back, "Anyway…we found something when we get here too."

John pointed down the path as he said this. All heads turned ahead, down a corridor with more of the luminescent crystals. At the end of it was a large wooden double door with a large amount of details. Also, there were two alicorns, one on each door.

_These alicorns on the door, _Twilight thought, _They don't look like how the Royal Sisters were depicted in ancient texts!_

"Have you tried opening it?" asked Twilight.

"Yeah," Rainbow said, "But it's locked."

The group moved towards the door, Twilight going slightly ahead to inspect it. She placed her palm on the wood. As soon as he did, she sensed something was off about it.

"You're right, it is locked," said Twilight, turning to the others, "But not in the traditional sense."

"Magic?" asked Corey.

"Most likely," Twilight responded, turning back to the door and putting her palm back on it again; her horn alight with a magenta hue, "Give me a second. I should be able to undo it."

Everyone watched as Twilight's horn began to glow brighter, her magical hue starting to coat the door.

"Alright, now one little spell and—" Twilight was cut off by a surge coming not from her, but from the door, one that shot out and knocked her off her feet, "Ack!"

Twilight fell backwards, on to the ground.

"Twilight!" Corey was, surprisingly, the first to respond, already moving towards her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah…" Twilight groaned, sitting up, "The lock on the door was more powerful than I thought. It rejected my spell and repelled the source of it; unfortunately, it was me." As Twilight got to her feet, Rainbow did a double take.

"Um, Twilight," she said, "You might want to take a look at this…"

Twilight looked to Rainbow first, but then took a look back at the door when she realized not just Rainbow, but everyone regarded the door with a renewed sense of wonder. As soon as she saw it, she adopted a similar expression.

"It can't be…" Now there was something on the door that wasn't there before Twilight had attempted to unlock it. There was something written in white all across the doors, and it was glowing brightly. But it wasn't in English.

"Runes…" Twilight mumbled, in complete disbelief, "It can't be a coincidence…"

All this time had been spent searching on the runic language; now a door was covered in similar runes to what Corey had written the day before.

"Think what we're looking for is behind those doors?" John asked, walking up.

"Maybe," Twilight said, "But it doesn't matter, I don't know anything about runic magic, so I can't unlock the door."

A feeling of frustration began to settle in at this point; they were so close, but a barricade separated them from what they wanted to find.

"Well, this is under the Princesses' old castle," said Rainbow, "You think any of them might be able to?"

"It's possible," Twilight said, "But even if they do, it doesn't change the fact that we won't be able to open the doors, for now, at least. Let's head back. I'll send Princess Celestia a letter as soon as we get back to Ponyville."

Already Twilight had begun moving back towards the stairs, already composing her report as she went. However, the mention of someone's name caught her attention.

"Corey?" This was John's voice, "What are you…?"

Twilight turned. Corey was standing up a little straighter than normal, walking towards the door, looking right at the runes that marked it.

"Careful, Corey," Twilight warned, fearing it would only knock him back too, "You don't want to get too close to it."

Corey didn't even seem to hear the others. His attention was solely on the door now, as if he were in a trance. As soon as he was in front of it, Corey raised a hand and placed it on the door. At first nothing happened; not even a repelling force.

"Does it only repel magic?" Rainbow asked, just before something changed.

The runes on the door changed from pure white to a bright green shade; without any warning at all. Then, the runes began to move. Corey looked up to the runes, now clearly looking confused.

_D—Did I…?_ Corey thought to himself, his palm still firmly pushing against the door.

Everyone stared, their mouths hanging wide open, as the runes eventually began to circle around the door. Soon, the runes began to slow down. The very moment they stopped, the runes vanished and the doors opened automatically. Only now did Corey finally lower his hand.

"I…" Twilight asked, walking up to him, "How did you do that?"

"I…I don't know," Corey said, looking to the hand that had done the job, "I just touched it, and…"

Twilight was speechless; when she had tried to unlock the door, she was knocked to the floor. But Corey; without even being aware of what he had done until after the fact, had caused a reaction in the runes that granted them access.

_But why…_ Twilight wondered to herself. However, she soon managed to force the question into the back of her mind. Right now, the door was open. So, they were free to see what was so important that it required ancient magic to lock it away.

"Come on," Twilight said, walking through the doors. The others followed her into what was a very small room. In the very center of the room, they spotted a pure white podium. And on top of it was what they believed they were looking for, a book, and a rather large one at that. Twilight studied the cover of the book; however, she noticed something important.

It had no title. However, the runes that decorated the front of it was proof enough.

"Is this…?" Corey trailed off, pointing at the book.

"I think so," said Twilight, using her magic to levitate the book off the podium. This time, there was no magical backlash to accompany it here. She looked to the book as it floated in front of her, "Looks like we're getting more information than we bargained for."

"Think we'll be able to cover it all?" wondered Corey aloud.

"I'm sure we can, and besides," Turning to face Corey, Twilight offered him a confident look, "We've got plenty of time…"

* * *

Princess Celestia sat alone in her throne room with a piece of parchment levitating in front of her via the use of her magic. The parchment was the latest letter from her former student, Twilight Sparkle, and it detailed the events of the day before. How many times had she re-read it? Celestia had lost count by now. Ever since she learned of the breakout from Tartarus, Princess Celestia had been wary of an attack. But the one Twilight had described in her letter was not what she had expected to hear about.

"Seven clay-like creatures, each with markings and eyes that glow red," Celestia repeated the description of the creatures as it was written on the parchment. Off the top of her head, Celestia believed it to be some form of puppeteer magic.

_This kind of magic is not unheard of, but it is not something just anyone can master,_ Celestia knew of one who had the power to control, but she needed to be in constant contact with her victim in order to sustain it. But the magic behind the creatures that attacked Twilight and her friends was on a level of its own. It didn't just give motion to several inanimate objects but also simulated the movements of a living creature—a feat that not many magical creatures, living or dead, had been able to accomplish.

_Is it possible that someone in Tartarus is behind this? Are the escaped prisoners already making their moves?_ This was a thought that had haunted Celestia since the count of escaped prisoners began. She knew that they were out there, plotting. And nothing could tell her exactly how far their sanity had gone in their years behind bars.

"What do I do now…?" Celestia asked herself, "If I continue to keep this from the public, then no one will be prepared if the prisoners should finally reveal themselves. But if they do know of what happened, it could cause a widespread panic, one the prisoners could take advantage of."

The amber light around the parchment faded, letting it flutter gently to the side. Celestia ran her hands through her mane, which even now continued to flow as if wind were blowing through it despite her mood.

_I do not know where I should go from here…_ Celestia thought to herself.

"Frustrating, is it not?" Celestia sat up straight as the sudden voice echoed all around her. She searched her surroundings, but found that no one else seemed to be in the room with her, "All the years you've ruled over this land, all the conflicts you've handled personally…you've gained quite a lot of experience under that crown of yours…"

By now, Celestia was on her feet, walking down the steps of her throne room as she searched everywhere she could think of for the source of the voice. All the while, it continued to talk to her.

"But now you're faced with something you'd never expected to face. The very gate constructed to protect your followers from darkness had just set them free. And now, you find that you haven't the knowledge required to fix it." The voice capped off its round of mocking with an amused-sounding laugh.

"Show yourself," Celestia demanded of the voice, only to be met with more mocking laughter that seemed to echo all around her.

"Very well," said the voice. At first, Celestia was met with silence, seeing no signs of anypony around her. But then, she heard something. A slight noise, sounding like the tiniest shuffles of feet. Her eyes searched the room again.

"Down here, princess," The voice directed; Celestia looked down and was met with a strange figure. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary rat. But when she looked close, she saw it was far more. This rat was not made of flesh, but clay, but that wasn't all. The creature's eyes and the markings on its body both were glowing bright red, just like Twilight had described with the creatures in her letter.

As the rat stood before her its body began to glow brighter, a small ray of light erupting from its back. Celestia found herself taking a step back in anticipation for what would come. Looking up, she took notice that something was formed in the light in front of her. A figure had projected itself inside of the light; tall, definitely, but that was all Celestia could distinguish for the figure's body was covered by a red cloak; matching the glow on the rat below it. And even though it was just a projection, the figure gave off an aura of power and control.

"Greetings, Princess Celestia," spoke the figure. Despite the deep tone of the voice, Celestia had reason to believe that it was being altered. Whoever this was had taken steps to preserve his or her identity, "Tell me, how are things in Tartarus?"

At this, Celestia felt a chill run down her spine. Though the figure hadn't said it directly, the way it spoke of Tartarus, she knew one thing for sure.

"It was you, wasn't it?" asked Celestia, "You broke open the gates of Tartarus?" she demanded of the figure.

"Indeed it was," said the figure.

"How?" Though the figure's face was covered by the hood, Celestia saw the smirk that had spread across it.

"Come now, princess, do you really expect me to share my secrets so easily?" asked the figure, "If you wish to find out the means, you will have to figure it out yourself." Celestia expected as much, but it still frustrated her. This figure had come to her and revealed its hand in the opening of the gates; however, Celestia felt there was something more to it, something unsaid.

"What is it that you want?" asked Celestia.

"I have been away a long time princess, trapped alone in my cell. What I want…no, wbat I _demand_ is entertainment," the figure said, "So today, I wish to extend an invitation, an invitation to join in my little game…"

There was something off about the way the figure used that last word.

"Game?" asked Celestia, completely flatly. She couldn't see the face of the cloaked pony in the hologram, but taking in everything; the magic that was being used to animate the rat, the magic used yesterday, the almost business-like tone the hologram took with her…and of course, what seemed to be a disregard for how many lives were involved, "What game is this?"

"It's a thriller," the hologram's lower face was visible; a smile appeared on the mouth that was visible, "A game that pits the ones cast into Hell, against those who supposedly walk in the light. The game that will show just what kind of creature a pony is when pushed…"

"How can you treat something like life as a simple game?" Celestia demanded of the holographic projection, "It's something that's meant to be precious…something that shouldn't just be treated as—"

"Save me the lectures, Celestia," the hologram snapped, the smile only slightly fading, "Believe me, you say that now; that is certainly why Tartarus has no…capital punishment. But trust in me when I say that we do not share the same views."

"We?" asked Celestia.

"The other escaped prisoners and myself, of course," the figure explained, "Who do you think has kept them from making themselves known?"

Celestia did her best to remain calm, but it was hard now that she knew someone had taken up a leading role among the escaped prisoners.

"But that will change very soon. Both sides have already set their pieces. All that remains is for the kings to make their move…"

"Kings? Pieces?" To Celestia, this figure was describing a chess game; however, once the figure raised its hand and swiped it, she was immediately assaulted by the sight of several other projections; not other figures, but movies, in a sense—clips of yesterday's battle between Twilight, her friends, and the creatures that had attacked them.

"I expected as much out of the Elements of Harmony to attend," Next, the figure snapped its figures, two more images appearing, "But these two were a surprise."

Celestia's eyes grew wide. In one of the new screens, clear as day, was John, fighting a couple and doing reasonably well. One of them, though hard to make out for some reason, still featured Corey fighting one of the creatures alone.

"No!" Celestia snapped, "You have no right to command who is involved in this!"

Her anger began to peak; in the wake of it, her body began to steam. Ignoring Celestia's outburst, the figure continued on.

"I have that and more," the images around the figure began to shift into something else. In several, she could still see the Elements. However, she could tell this wasn't a back recording—it was a live feed! It was showing them, in real time, just going about their lives.

"As you are aware, my little friend here was able to sneak past your guards without being spotted. It would be a simple matter to get to anyone else."

"Even them," The images shifted again. Some came from the hospital; Celestia could see the guard that had barged into her castle that fateful night along with his friends. Others revealed ponies that Celestia knew, some workers in the castle. Other revealed ponies close to the Elements; their family, friends, even their pets. Celestia's fist tightened as her fur began to glow.

"I see you understand now," said the figure, "But I can promise you that they will be untouched, so long as you follow my set of rules."

It took every ounce of self-control Celestia had amassed over the centuries she'd been alive to not erupt in fury then and there.

"Speak…" she commanded, her voice making no effort to conceal the anger she felt.

"At any point in time, I will send out any number of my pieces. You can feel free to respond with any number of your own," said the hologram, "A piece is no longer valid if it, for some reason, drops out, or, if it is destroyed in a significant way. 'Destroyed' need not imply death, but think about who you're up against before you make your move…"

"Naturally, I will not be announcing any of my movements; I don't expect to hear anything from you regarding yours at this point in time. You may make preparations to engage my forces, but I'd be careful about leaving your loved ones unguarded…" This figure was doing everything it could to push Celestia, but she wasn't going to give it the pleasure of seeing her snap.

"Is that all?" she asked.

"One more thing, the only ones allowed to engage my pawns are yours. I'll even allow your guards to join in. But under no circumstances are you, your sister, or the lord of chaos himself allowed to intervene in this confrontations, or else there will be a suitable punishment."

With one more snap of the figure's fingers, all the images around it shattered away from view like panes of glass.

"I hope you are quick to remember, because I will not be stating the rules again. I recommend you inform your pawns. They'll need to get ready before my next assault. Which may be sooner than you think," as the voice faded away, so did the projection of the cloaked figure, leaving behind only the small rat.

The small artificial creature might have run away or evaporated into dust like the others, but it didn't have the time. As Celestia stormed past it, its body was quickly reduced to nothing but ash that blew away by some unseen force.

Making her way to the door, she opened them with nearly enough force to break them right off the hinges. As she made her way down the hall, she could no longer her the guards that were calling out to her.

"I don't have time to waste," she said to herself, "I must prepare them for what is to come…"

* * *

_**And here's where we see the big plan to what's about to happen. I'm not quite sure what else to say. Until next week.**_


	19. Act 2 Chapter 9

**Act II: Collision Course**

**Chapter 9: A Game Changer**

* * *

John found himself spending yet another day in town. As it turned out, Rainbow's hands were tied with work. This obviously meant his flying lessons were on hold. Fortunately for the dragon, he didn't find himself in a position where he had nothing to do. Another one of the locals had asked for his help, and he was more than happy to oblige. This time, it was the earth pony, Bon Bon, who had brought him back to her candy shop. And what she needed help with was certainly something unusual by his homeworld's standards.

"Well," John said, staring in amazement, "You don't see that every day."

John and Bon Bon were currently standing in the latter's kitchen, staring at her oven. Right now, however, the oven was acting more like a flamethrower than anything else. Bon Bon herself was wearing a plain, cream-colored long-sleeve shirt, tucked into a light gray long skirt, with a teal baker's apron over her front.

"How'd this happened?" he asked.

"Asked my roommate to put some cake batter in the oven for me," said Bon Bon, "I think she messed with the gas value…"

"The instructions weren't clear!" another female's voice shouted from the other room.

"I'm surprised the place hasn't already burned down yet," John observed, motioning around him; there wasn't even any evidence that the oven was malfunctioning this bad until John saw it himself.

"I like to take precautions. You can see why," Bon Bon said, "So I made sure to fireproof the kitchen. Unfortunately, we aren't, so we can't get close enough to the oven to shut it off."

Already John knew where this was going. He'd seen dragons in the show jump into a pool a lava as if it were nothing; they were about as fireproof as one could get.

"On it," John said, removing his sweater and putting it on the nearby counter. As he walked up to the fire, he held his hands out towards the fire. As a simple test, he put it into the path of the fire.

_As expected,_ John thought, slowly moving his hands through the stream for a bit longer, a smirk forming on his face, _It doesn't hurt._

Now that he knew for sure he was fireproof, he continued forward, his entire body now surrounded by fire.

"The bottom part of the oven comes off,' said Bon Bon; John able to hear her clearly. John looked down, seeing the part she was talking about. After he removing it, he saw there was an opening, "Inside, you should see a red valve; use it to switch off the gas."

The valve wasn't hard to find. Reaching down, John took hold on it with one hand and proceeded to turn it. The fire instantly began to die down as he turned it, eventually going out completely as the valve finally hitched to a stop in his grasp.

"That should do it," said John, standing up and turning back to Bon Bon.

"Well, that worked out better than I thought," Bon Bon observed, digging into a bag that was nearby.

"Well, the instructions were clear," said John, at a volume just over his normal speaking tone.

"I heard that!" the same voice from the other room yelled. At this, John and Bon Bon shared a small laugh.

"Here, take this for your troubles," she said, tossing something to John. After catching it, John looked down at his hands to get a closer look. It was oblong-shaped, crystalline, and red in color, no bigger than his palm.

"A gem?" asked John.

"Yeah," Bon Bon answered, "From what I've heard dragons collect and eat them. I've had this one for a while now but don't really have any use for it myself. I figured you'd want it.

John looked down towards the gem again. Afterward, he looked back up to Bon Bon and smiled.

"Thanks," said John.

After saying his goodbyes, he took his sweater and walked out of the shop, putting it back on in the process. As he walked through town, he continued to eye the gem in his hand. Since he'd arrived in town, it never once crossed his mind to try to eat one. But he had the perfect opportunity now…

"Well, down the hatch it goes," John said, lifting the gem into his mouth. His dragon teeth easily cleaved through the gem entirely like it were a potato chip. The instant the gem broke in his mouth, John paused, his eyes opening wide.

_I can't believe it,_ John thought, _But this is the greatest thing I've ever tasted! The texture! The flavor! The…the…what…_

John couldn't finish his mental review, spotting something in the distance, or rather, somepony. Even though he was mixed with the citizens, John had no trouble spotting him. He was slightly tall, seemed adequately built, and had a familiar color scheme.

He knew the character well. He'd made rare appearances in the show after his introduction, and right now, he should have been far north of Ponyville. Yet here he was now.

_But why is he here?_ John thought to himself, confused.

* * *

Corey had spent the rest of yesterday practicing his magic control, not feeling up to going through the big book on runes just yet. However, now that it was a new day, it was time to get moving. He was ready to start learning just what he could do and if he could somehow replicate the results from his runes using tips from an ancient book, locked away behind a special door.

"Ah, Corey," Twilight said to him as he entered the room in which he'd done most of his studying since starting his magic lessons, "I guess you're ready?"

Corey looked ahead of her, towards the book on the desk. The single source that could be found on runes in that old castle sat there, beckoning him to read its words. And who was Corey to disappoint?

"Yeah," Corey said. He'd gotten up earlier than normal for the second day in a row; it showed in the way he sounded: dry and not much life to his voice, "Hope it can tell us something about…about the runes I was using…"

Twilight looked at Corey as he passed by, still not sure why he'd been able to open the door on contact when even she couldn't open it herself. However, she put that aside for the time being. She had, somehow, managed to restrain herself from opening the book until now, and couldn't wait to get started.

_Besides,_ she mused, quickly following his lead, _it wouldn't be worth asking him the question since he doesn't even know why it happened…_

Corey sat in his usual seat, Twilight taking hers across from him, just as usual. Corey slouched over a bit and sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Twilight wondered how he hadn't noticed yet.

"Alright, let's get started," said Corey.

Twilight could barely hold herself from opening the cover to the book, swinging open the front covet with her magic. Already, she was looking at the table of contents. Corey looked open the pages as well, eager to find out just what kind of information the book was going to provide him, when he realized something was off. The book had small print, and even this close, sitting with the book more or less in front of him, the letters looked more like a large blur of gray and black than anything else.

_I…I can't see…_ Corey thought, his hand reaching up towards his face. Only now did he fully realize there was a problem, patting at empty air where there should have been a cool, smooth sort of surface there. _My glasses!_

_I can't believe I'm getting to look at information this old!_ Twilight thought, completely overcome with excitement at the thought of being able to turn the pages of the ages-old book before her. She was about to find out more about not only runes, but history in general. Plus, it was a new book. And a rather sizable one at that, too. She doubted she'd ever get tired of flipping through the tomes of ages of old—

"Twilight…" Corey's voice came through to her, clearly panicky and agitated. Twilight blinked, only just now fully remembering she had something else to do with the book. She looked up towards Corey to find his eyes were wide, and he was patting at his upper face slightly. Only when he spoke up again did she realize what had dawned on him, "Where are my glasses?"

"Oh," Twilight's ears fell just a little, but they quickly flicked back up, "Well, during your fight, they broke…"

Corey's ears fell, and he blinked. His eyes still wide, he asked, "How bad was it…"

The mare paused for just a moment. She was unsure how she should answer his question; at least, she was assuming he was asking what happened. The dry tone to his voice made it come off more like a demand.

"The…" Twilight hesitated for a moment, "The right lens had shattered; the frames were broken; even part of the left lens was completely shattered; the rest was heavily cracked. I think it was the force of your spell that did it."

Corey took in the information he was told, blinking lightly. His eyes went slightly wider as he processed it. There was a moment of pause before Corey let out a heavy sigh.

"Dammit…" Corey slouched forward in the chair, putting one palm to the bridge of his nose, "How'd I not see it before?"

"I'm wondering that myself," Twilight said, sounding strangely undisturbed, but why? "You didn't seem to need them until right now…"

"My eyesight isn't so bad I can't live without them," Corey said, sounding down on himself and not looking up to face her, "But it's just bad enough to where I can't read things far away or too small…"

"With everything that had happened," Twilight said, "It probably slipped your mind…"

"Probably," Corey sighed again.

"Corey," Twilight said, standing up as Corey looked up towards her. The book could wait just a little longer, "Hold on a second, I'll be right back."

Quickly, she left the room, leaving Corey alone with his thoughts. He sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair. He looked back to the book, closing his eyes as he took in the sight of the blur on the pages. He gritted his teeth just a little.

_I don't want to be read to like a kid because I can't see the print…_ Corey thought, _And I don't know if we can just sit around while I wait for a new pair. The thing that happened yesterday; that breakout…I can't be the only one feeling like there's a connection…_

Corey's gaze soon went back towards the doorway. Twilight appeared there once again; something in her right hand. Quickly, she strode into the room, rapidly making her way over to him. As she drew closer, Corey found himself able to make out what the object in her hand was, and blinked.

_Are those my…_ Corey thought, squinting. Twilight eventually made it to her seat across from him once again, and set the object down where Corey could see it clearly, unobstructed by the lavender-furred hand, _They…are…?_

"But I thought—" Corey said, looking up to Twilight, caught slightly off-guard, "Is this a new-?"

"No," Twilight smiled just a little, "They're the ones you were wearing when you first came into our world. I tried out a spell I haven't really had to use…"

Corey looked back down to the glasses on the table; of course, she probably repaired them with a spell. But admittedly, Corey had his doubts.

_The lenses were completely shattered,_ Corey thought, _She said so herself. And my eyesight needed corrective lenses; these aren't just for show, or for reading…_

Something occurred to Corey at this point. He quit looking at the glasses for a moment, and his gaze flicked up to see Twilight, waiting. With a sigh, Corey reached out for the glasses, unfolding the sides and, while looking at the book's text, slid them on, eyes closed. Feeling that they still fit on his face even now, he opened his eyes.

The crystal-clear words that were on the pages revealed themselves to him. Corey blinked, looking around, finally wearing his glasses for the first time since the fight. Maybe it was the fact he'd gone two days without wearing them, but not only was the book's text clearer, everything around him seemed to be sharper than he remembered it being.

"They work…" Corey said, closing his left eye to find that the right lens worked even though there hadn't been anything left from what he had been told, "I think they work even better than they did before!" He finally directed his gaze towards Twilight, who was now giving him a pleased smile, even looking just a little proud that he'd said what he had.

"The spell I used did its job," Twilight summarized, her hands now resting on the book, "It not only fixed them back to how they looked before, it enhanced the lenses themselves. I also made sure to make them stronger so that they wouldn't be so fragile if you should get into another fight again or manage to replicate the spell you did. So-"

Twilight felt a small gasp escape her mouth, feeling something clasp down on her hands. She looked down just as her arms moved up slightly, seeing a pair of green-furred hands rather firmly clasping hers. She looked up, seeing Corey offering her another genuine-looking smile and a look into her eyes.

"Thank you," said Corey with a sigh, still holding on to her hands. Twilight paused, looking down towards her hands, and back to him. Something inside of her changed; she wasn't sure what it was, but she felt her heart rate jump for just a second.

"Um…" Twilight started. Corey's gaze flicked downwards. He blinked, then looked back up to her again.

_What…_ Corey thought, that smile frozen on his face as he suddenly felt his face start to heat up fast, _What did I just do!?_

Both looked at each other, neither knowing what to say and only vaguely sure what to do next. The two remained locked in that awkward pose for a few seconds longer, when suddenly, there was the sound of a knocking downstairs.

_A distraction!_ Corey thought, immediately standing up and moving towards him, letting go of Twilight's hands.

_There's something I can do!_ Twilight thought, also standing up. Corey was the first to start moving away from the desk, already completely around it by the time Twilight started to move.

Corey's rapid motions towards the doorway were soon cut short. Out of his nervousness for what had just happened, he wasn't paying attention to his footing; somehow, he wound up putting his right foot directly in front of his left, effectively tripping himself up. Corey stumbled heavily, clearly about to fall.

Twilight, for all her magic and smarts, didn't quite think to break left or right when Corey staggered around off-balance. She bumped right into him, somehow hitting his front side, knocking him the rest of the way off his feet. Twilight let out a scream in surprise as she fell too as well.

Corey hit the ground back-first, bumping his head on the ground, letting out a sharp grunt. The slight weight of Twilight followed, landing on top of him. The next thing Corey knew, there was the rapid sound of what sounded like shoes pounding the wooden floor, followed by a very familiar-sounding male voice.

"What's going—" The ample concern died out in the voice as both Corey and Twilight looked up, seeing who it was, "…on…here…"

Both Corey and Twilight were looking upon a very familiar face. A white-furred male unicorn now stood in the doorway. His non-furred hands were a dark blue color; the fur cropping off at his wrists. He had a two-toned blue mane and tail. He was somewhat well-built, wearing a red jacket over a black shirt. The shirt had a purple shield with a magenta star on it. He also wore a surprisingly casual pair of blue jeans, considering who he was. His brows creased, his blue eyes studying the scene in front of him intently. Eventually, he spoke up again.

"What's going on here!?" he repeated, now sounding very angry.

"Shining!?" Twilight screamed, her cheeks slightly pink considering what had just happened. Below her, Corey let out his own statement.

"W-w-w-wait! I-I can explain this!" He said, his face red and his voice filled with fear as he realized exactly what had happened. Shining had just seen Twilight on top of him—did Twilight scream? Corey didn't exactly remember…

_And this is how I die…_ Corey thought to himself.

* * *

After what had happened the previous day, Celestia still chose to set up shop in her throne room; it was something that had to be done. She sighed. Shining Armor had to have made it to Ponyville by now…

_The course of action I took may have been a little extreme,_ Celestia thought to herself, going over more of what she knew about the situation, _But these are dire times we're living in. And like it or not, there's no other option: Corey and John are in this. Cadence understood just as well as anyone else how bad it is…_

Celestia knew the feeling that had settled into her mind all too well. Though she never showed it, she had been worried whenever her student and her friends went up against Equestria's enemies. However, after so many times she knew they could handle it. But now, not only did she have to worry about them and the rest of her subjects, she had to worry about two more that had shown up recently.

Two formerly human creatures who knew not what they were up against; even if Twilight and the others had filled in the blanks, they did not know the extent of it. Two creatures who came from a world without magic, forced into a magical conflict for the fate of the world that they hadn't even been a part of yet.

She had to worry about those two most of all. She had no idea if Corey and John would be able to withstand what was going on. Though at present, she had no idea what to do about John. That said, she still had some idea of what she could do to try to help Corey out.

_It's all on you now,_ she thought, _I just hope that what Shining Armor will do will be what Corey needs here…_

* * *

"…and that's why I've come here now," Shining finished, an air of complete unease settling on the room in the wake of his story.

"One of the prisoners…contacted Princess Celestia directly?" Twilight asked, clearly disturbed by this revelation, "And what's more…"

She cast a glance to her left. Corey's hands were squeezing his knees tightly. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates, the pupils shaking. Whatever lights that were in his eyes seemed to have vanished, looking at the floor beneath his feet.

"We tried to keep him, and his friend, out of danger," Twilight said, "But because both of them had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, they're both involved in that prisoners' 'game'?"

"Unfortunately, it looks like it," Shining said, looking at Twilight. He then turned to Corey, who was still privately freaking out, still looking at the detail on the wooden floor, "But I didn't come all this way just to scare you two with the bad news."

Twilight spotted Shining's look, and took a quick glance over to her right. It had been awkward, the position she was in when Shining first arrived, but she had a feeling Shining's glaring had nothing to do with that this time.

"I was asked, by Princess Celestia, to provide some help, straight from the academy," Shining said.

Corey twitched a little, and some other emotion than dull, numbing fear had worked its way into his eyes. He looked up, still slouched forward, and finally said something.

"F-from the academy…?" he asked. At this, Shining stood up, walking around the table, stopping in front of Corey.

"It's not going to be easy," Shining said, "I had years to learn the stuff I'm going to pass on to you. It was demanding, exhausting, and at times even terrifying."

Corey already didn't like where this was going. Twilight said nothing, looking to the others with concern in her eyes.

"But we probably don't have that kind of time," Shining continued, "If you thought what you were dealing with here, with that one doll, was tough," At this point, he roughly clamped down on Corey's shoulders, practically forcing Corey to look him in the eyes, "I'm not sure how you'll hold up through the crash course I'm about to give you!"

"Shining," Twilight said, her concerned eyes looking back and forth between them, "You're…"

"I'm going to be the one training him from here on, Twilight…"

* * *

_**And that's how the plot thickens some more. Yeah. Well, see you next week!**_


End file.
